IN THE GALLERY

A BLAZE OF LOCAL COLOUR:
Folk Art and Apparel and
Works by DMYTRO STRYJEK
From the Collections of Oseredok

NEW IN THE BOUTIQUE

NEW STERLING SILVER TRYZUB PENDANTS!
Seven styles and sizes to choose from.

STERLING SILVER AND ENAMEL PYSANKA PENDANTS!
Make a statement with this unique, beautiful, hand-crafted pendant.

BIG BOOK SALE!
Get 20% off all books* in the Boutique from June 26 through July 4!
*(not including children's books)

If you're a member of Oseredok you will get an additional 10% off!
Cookbooks, art books, how-to books, novels, poetry, history, and much more!
Stock up on your summer reading!

THEY'RE COMING BACK! HAYDAMAKY
In concert with Winnipeg's ZRADA
Wednesday, July 28 at the West End Cultural Centre
Tickets availavle now at Oseredok Boutique.

Open Monday through Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sundays (July and August) 1 - 4pm
CLOSED THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010
(204) 942-0218
ucec@mts.net

(Reuters) - President Viktor Yanukovich said Friday limits on the power of the presidency introduced in Ukraine's 2004 "Orange Revolution" had produced a crisis of authority and urged a change in the constitution.

Reversing the amendments would help Yanukovich, who has pursued closer relations with Russia, to consolidate his power after winning presidential elections this year, installing his ally as prime minister and securing a parliamentary majority.

"The experience of state-building... shows that Ukraine's constitution requires certain changes," Yanukovich said in a televised address to the nation ahead of Constitution Day celebrated on June 28.

"Some of its norms, in particular those hastily introduced in 2004, led to misbalancing and a serious crisis of authority, and have become target of justified criticism in the country and from the international community."

The 2004 amendments weakened presidential powers such as control over naming government ministers, passing those functions to the parliament.

They were introduced as part of a deal to end the "Orange Revolution" street protests, which swept Yanukovich's rival Viktor Yushchenko to the presidency.

Yushchenko tried to reverse the amendments during a spat with then-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, but he failed to secure the support of the 300 of 450 parliament deputies required to change the constitution.

Three factions that make up Yanukovich's coalition currently control 219 seats in the parliament but the group enjoys support from a number of individual deputies belonging to other factions, routinely securing up to 250 votes.

(Reporting by Yuri Kulikov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Ralph Boulton)

KIEV — US ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft on Thursday warned Ukraine's authorities against a return to media censorship amid growing concerns over press freedoms in the ex-Soviet country.
"There should be no going back to the old system of government pressure of journalists and media companies," Tefft said during a speech to a Kiev-based think tank, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
He noted "troubling reports of pressure on journalists" and an attack on a regional newspaper editor as recent worrying signs.
"We must also recognise that some media companies practise self-censorship, which is equally destructive to the principle of press freedom," Tefft added.
"It is essential to protect and even expand the media freedoms that emerged" after the country's 2004 Orange Revolution, he said.
Press freedom in Ukraine is seen as one of the few lasting gains of the revolution that brought pro-Western leaders to power, who were in turn ousted by President Viktor Yanukovych in this year's elections.
Ukrainian television journalists last month issued a petition complaining of an increase in censorship under the pro-Kremlin Yanukovych, saying certain issues had become taboo.
Dozens of journalists and social activists marched in Kiev this month to denounce what they see as a return to state censorship.