Austrian doctors have confirmed that Ukraine's opposition presidential candidate Victor Yushchenko has been poisoned with dioxin. The highly toxic substance was ingested orally and was probably given to him by a "third party."
After three months of uncertainty, the tests gave an explanation for the mysterious illness that has plagued Yushchenko since September. The poisoning has left the opposition leader with a badly disfigured face, but no lasting internal damage. He might, however, run an increased risk of cancer.
Yushchenko has insisted he was a victim of a murder plot for a long time. However, up until Saturday the medical team at the Vienna Rudolfinerhaus clinic where he was treated had not confirmed his allegations. The announcement of the test results confirming dioxin poisoning on Saturday sent shockwaves across Europe. Most newspapers ran stories accompanied by photographs of Yushchenko before and after he fell ill to show the disfiguring transformation of his face during the last months. In the scandal, which many compared to the plot of a Cold War spy novel, the question that remains is "Who poisoned Yushchenko?"
According to the Ukrainian newspaper Facts, the story started on September 5th, when Viktor Yushchenko had dinner with the security service director Igor Smeshko and his deputy Vladimir Satsyuk. Yushchenko asked them to "stop interfering in the political struggle." The opposition leader became sick several hours later, when the dinner was over.
Viktor Yushchenko's wife, Ekaterina Yushchenko, narrated the continuation of the story to Ukraine's newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli: "Viktor came home very late. I kissed him as usual and tasted something medical on my lips. I asked my husband, if he had taken medication. Viktor answered that he had not; he said he was tired."
In an interview for London's The Times on December 8th, Yushchenko's doctor Nikolai Korpan claimed for the first time that there was evidence that the illness was a result of a deliberate attempt at the presidential candidate's life.
Previously experts from Britain, the US and France had agreed that the mysterious illness was caused by one of three possible factors: a biological agent, a chemical agent, or a rare poison that had caused his mysterious illness. "This is no longer a question for discussion, " Dr Korpan said. "We are now sure that we can confirm which substances caused this illness. He received this substance from other people who had a specific aim. Asked if the aim had been to kill him, Dr. Korpan said: "Yes, of course."
However, hours after The Times story was published, Dr. Korpan denied making the remarks. "The suspicion of poisoning has until now neither been confirmed or excluded," Korpan was quoted as saying by the Austria Press Agency.
The Times stressed that proof that Mr. Yushchenko was deliberately poisoned would be a devastating blow to his opponent, Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich before the presidential run-off on December 28.
"It would raise questions about whether the poisoning was ordered by Mr. Yanukovich, his allies, or even the Kremlin, which fears that Mr. Yushchenko will take Ukraine out of its sphere of influence by joining NATO and the EU."
The Times pointed out that the supporters of Yanukovich have dismissed the poisoning theory, attributing his illness to food poisoning, drinking, or a severe form of herpes. In an earlier interview outgoing president Kuchma's son-in-law had presented a different hypothesis: "I believe he is sure it was poisoning. He's not a liar. But some people from his camp created this provocation against him, his image, the government and the country."
In an interview with France's Le Monde on Thursday, professor Michael Zimpfer, President of the Rudolfinerhaus clinic, also distanced himself from the charges raised by Dr Korpan as published by The Times. He said, "at this point, there is no formal proof of poisoning."
On Saturday, however, during a press conference, Michael Zimpfer confirmed that "there is no doubt about the fact that Yuschenko's disease has been caused by a case of poisoning by dioxin."
Masykaaa_forever обратиться по имени
Пятница, 28 Января 2005 г. 16:59 (ссылка)
ЖалКоВАмДАМ? обратиться по имени
Пятница, 28 Января 2005 г. 17:00 (ссылка)
я написала "трахнули" ??? где??
