the man who claims to own secret recordings make in former president kuchma's office says he'll share them only with ukraine's state security service.

the only reason for travelling to the city of ostrava, in northern moravia, in the czech republic, was to meet volodymyr boldanyuk, the czech citizen and businessman who claims to possess the lion’s share of the secret recordings made in former president kuchma’s office during 1999 and 2000.

the audio archive was brought to ostrava – and left with boldanyuk – by former presidential guard mykola melnychenko. it reportedly comprises some 45 compact discs containing an estimated 1,000 hours of recordings dating from 1999 through the end of september 2000.

the recordings have been used (and still are being used) by foreign media and governments over the years to implicate kuchma in a host of alleged crimes, ranging from gongadze’s murder to illegal arms trading, to vote-rigging and the imprisonment of kuchma’s critics, including journalists, lawyers and bankers, on trumped-up charges.

despite assurances given by boldanyuk’s partner in kyiv, no one was at ostrava airport on april 26 to meet journalists from the post, the internet site ukrainkska pravda, and television’s channel 5.

boldanyuk’s associate in kyiv, anatoly sakada, shrugged off the unfulfilled promise, instructing the journalists by phone to check in to the olymp hotel, one of the half dozen locations where melnychenko hid with his family after fleeing ukraine in november 2000 to sit out anti-kuchma protests.

“we are engaged in negotiations presently,” sakada said. “call back in two hours.”

boldanyuk apologized for the mix-up hours later by telephone.

“i do not want to jeopardize the outcome of negotiations, which are in their final stage,” he told ukrainska pravda co-founder olena prytula. “make sure you get something good to eat before you leave ostrava.”

boldanyuk would not say with whom his “talks” were, or what they were about.

the next day, employees from boldanyuk’s company avartos, s.r.o in downtown ostrava also declined com-

ment, as did craftsmen from dynamic-design, the graphic arts firm headed by boldanyuk’s wife, pavlina.

over lunch on april 27 at the kongo restaurant, she explained that any publicity about the recordings scandal in local czech media might “damage” the family’s reputation. she said that it was unlikely that her husband would acquiesce to meeting face-to-face, but promised to pass on the request nonetheless.

volodymyr boldanyuk eventually found something to say that evening, sending several short text messages (sms) by telephone.

he wrote that he would only be willing to talk to “serious journalists” about the recordings and his role in the tapegate scandal.

“you are just looking for a sensational story and nothing more,” he messaged. “this is all you have accomplished in four years.”

“we have been trying to learn the truth about the recordings for the last four years,” the journalists messaged back.

sakada then called from kyiv. “we are recording all your conversations [in the hotel room],” he warned. “our associates will meet you in the hotel at midnight to straighten things out.” no one arrived. early the next morning, the post and a television crew from channel 5 waited outside boldanyuk’s apartment to question him face-to-face. before climbing into his new mercedes van, boldanyuk briefly paused in front of television cameras. he said that he indeed possesses all the recordings smuggled by melnychenko to ostrava in november 2000. “but i will not share them with you journalists, ordinary people, only with ukraine’s state security services and the authorities in kyiv,” he said. boldanyuk did not respond when asked whether he or his associates sold copies of all – or just some – of melnychenko’s discs to ukraine’s state security services (sbu) in 2002, as he himself alleged last summer.a post investigation supported by the danish association for investigative journalism then revealed that there were three meetings between boldanyuk and former sbu chief petro shatkovsky to arrange that transaction.

when contacted on may 3, the sbu told the post that they would comment later.

gongadze became an opposition icon during ukraine’s marathon presidential election, which began last october and turned into the peaceful mass uprising known as the orange revolution.

despite yushchenko’s victory and pledge to punish those who ordered gongadze’s murder and beheading, both boldanyuk and melnychenko have refused to turn state’s witnesses in the investigation.

“i have guarded these recordings for four years and the american authorities warned me four times about attempts on my life,” melnychenko told london’s sunday times on march 6. “i don’t want it all to go to waste at the last moment.”

boldanyuk’s brief interview led news coverage aired hourly by channel 5 on april 29. the news line-up was re-shuffled at 8 p.m., led by another tapegate-related scandal involving an alleged plot arranged by exiled russian tycoon borys berezovsky and kuchma’s son-in-law viktor pinchuk to falsify the official investigation into gongadze’s murder.

the report was based on a statement made by melnychenko, who back in april 2001 received refugee status in the united states.