[Marxism] Yushchenko was poisoned, hospital finds. Would this be an example of unconditional defense of ex-workers states against imperialism?

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hospital says Yushchenko was poisoned
Cause of Ukraine candidate's illness said likely intentional
Austrian doctors said Saturday that the disfiguring illness of Ukrainian
presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, pictured in Kiev, Ukraine, on
Nov. 21, was caused by dioxin poisoning that was likely intentional.

MSNBC News Services
Updated: 4:23 p.m. ET Dec. 11, 2004
VIENNA, Austria - The mysterious illness of Ukrainian opposition leader
and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was caused by dioxin
poisoning that was likely intentional, doctors said Saturday.

"There is no doubt about the fact that Mr. Yushchenko's disease has been
caused by a case of poisoning by dioxin," said Dr. Michael Zimpfer,
director of Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic.

Zimpfer said Yushchenko's blood and tissue registered concentrations of
dioxin 1,000 times above normal levels.
"It would be quite easy to administer this amount in a soup," Zimpfer
said, adding that tests showed the dioxin was taken orally.

"The criminal investigation does not fit within our purview but ...
there is suspicion of third-party involvement."

Tests run over the past 24 hours provided conclusive evidence of the
poisoning, Zimpfer said.
When first seen by the Austrian doctors, Yushchenko was in a "critical
stage" but was "not on the verge of dying," Zimpfer said.

He is now in "satisfactory" condition and his dioxin levels have
returned to normal.
Yushchenko has accused Ukrainian authorities of trying to poison him in
the runup to a presidential vote marred by fraud. Ukraine's Supreme
Court voided the outcome of that vote, which Yushchenko lost to Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and a rerun of the ballot is slated for Dec.
26.

Yushchenko first fell ill in September and was rushed to the Vienna
hospital. He resumed campaigning later in the month but with a
pockmarked and badly disfigured face.

He returned to the hospital later in September for further treatment and
checked in for a third time Friday.



Health improving
Yushchenko told reporters on Friday his health was improving and he was
optimistic he would achieve victory in the re-run against Yanukovych.
"Everything is going well," he told reporters outside the clinic, his
U.S.-born wife Kateryna acting as interpreter. "I plan to live for a
very long time. I plan to be very happy. I am gaining better health
every day."
Earlier in the week he said it was his "growing conviction that what
happened to me was an act of political reprisal against a politician in
opposition. The aim, naturally, was to kill me."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.


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