Ukrainian trade union leader denounces pressure by authorities.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

MP Oleksandr Stoyan has recently quit the opposition Our Ukraine bloc to join the pro-presidential majority. The following interview had been taken by Our Ukraine's www.razom.org.ua web site just before that. In the interview, Stoyan accused the presidential administration and the United Social Democratic Party of attempts to push him from the chair of head of the Federation of Trade Unions. The following is the text of the interview with Stoyan by Yaroslav Bilyk, published on the Ukrainian web site Ukrayinska Pravda on 6 December:

The interview with Oleksandr Stoyan below was taken for www.razom.org.ua on 3 December, and the text was agreed with Stoyan two days later. On the day when it became known that Stoyan, who had been No 2 on the Our Ukraine election list, was to resign from it and join the parliamentary majority, Stoyan's press service asked us to hold the interview... [newspaper ellipsis]

Ukrayinska Pravda's note: At the fourth congress of the Federation of Trade Unions on 21 November, Stoyan once again ran for the post of the federation chairman. Valeriy Pozhydaev, his competitor, was supported by a group linked to the United Social Democratic Party. None of the candidates was able to receive the needed number of votes to win, however. The federation's charter stipulates that the winner must receive half of the votes plus one. Of the 745 delegates who took part in the voting, 357 voted for Stoyan, and 361 voted for his deputy, Valeriy Pozhydaev.

The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine will meet again on 12 December to choose its chairman. We shall see whether Stoyan will be helped by his fence sitting and entry into the parliamentary majority.

[Bilyk] Mr Stoyan, the mass media has been giving the Federation of Trade Unions, which you are chairing, unusually much attention recently. The recent …