Yuschenko Accuses Regime of Attempted Murder and Reads the Riot Act to Moroz As Well - Read, View or Listen

In a speech to the Verkhovna Rada today, Viktor Yuschenko accused the Kuchma regime of attempting to kill him.

"Look at my face, listen to my voice, these are small indications of what
happened to me. Look hard at me, this is not caused by cuisine or food as some
might say ... This has been caused by a political regime in this country. We are
talking about political cuisine which kills," he told parliament.

"Just don't ask who is next. It could be anyone of us. I hope we prove who is the killer. Although we already know the answer -- it's the authorities," said Yushchenko, whose face has become puffy and red. He also has difficulty speaking, one side of his face seems paralyzed and one eye waters.

Yuschenko also angrily replied to Socialist leader Olexandr Moroz' earlier, cynical suggestion that the presidential candidate's illness was merely a bad case of food poisoning, caused by Yuschenko's exotic culinary tastes and that he should follow Moroz's lead and eat good ole, plain Ukrainian food - potatoes, salo. Causing an uproar in the Parliamentary Hall, Yuschenko accused Moroz of "dancing to Medvechuk's tune," continuing that should Moroz ever stop doing so, even a potato diet will not save him.

It seems that this attack on Yuschenko has finally forced him to stop the diplomatic games with Moroz. Moroz, who has played at being in opposition to the Kuchma regime for that last few years, has, in fact, been "dancing to Medvechuk's tune" all along. And Yuschenko has now made public what many have been saying privately for years.

To read Yuschenko's full text, as well as Moroz' reply in Ukrainian, click here

To listen to the full address to the Parliament click here

To view fragments of the address click here