"UKRAINE REPORT"
In-Depth Ukrainian News and Analysis
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"Nature has created the groundwork for the development of tourism. It
is up to those inhabiting this land to develop it. In Ivano-Frankivsk oblast
this process is progressing at a rapid pace. Hotels, recreation and tourist
centers are mushrooming. In recent years several European-class hotels
have been built in the region, which is only the beginning. [article four]
"UKRAINE REPORT" Year 2004, Number 26
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C., Tuesday, February 17, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
1. ONE-THIRD OF ALL UKRAINIANS WOULD LIKE TO MOVE
TO ANOTHER COUNTRY ACCORDING TO OPINION POLL
Only 37 per cent of 18-year-olds would stay in Ukraine
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 6 Feb 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Feb 16, 2004
2. "UKRAINE'S CONSTITUTION IS FINE AS IT IS"
By Yuliya Tymoshenko, Member of Ukraine's Parliament
Financial Times, FT.com site; UK, Feb 16, 2004
3. CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AGREEMENT NEARS COMPLETION
INSIDE UKRAINE (IU), Kyiv, Ukraine, February 17, 2004
4. CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS AND LAND OF IVANO-FRANKIVSK
Mountains of Opportunities, Ukrainians begin to cash in on tourism
By Volodymyr Denysenko, The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, February 10, 2004
5. AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY, AMBASSADOR NEEDED IN UKRAINE
There are some 30,000 people of Ukrainian ancestry living in Australia
Canberra Times, Canberra, Australia; Feb 17, 2004
6. ANCIENT TRYPILLIAN CIVILIZATION
Study and Tour in Ukraine, Summer 2004
Mykola Ponomarenko, Kolos Corporation, Alexandria, VA, Feb 13, 2004
7. UN PROGRAM IN UKRAINE DENIES MISMANAGEMENT,
BUYS EMERGENCY DRUGS FOR HIV-AIDS PATIENTS
AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Feb 16, 2004
8. TROUBLED TIMES FOR NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS IN UKRAINE
By Ivan Khokhotva, BBC Monitoring research, Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 16, 2004
9. "SO, IS IT PROLONGATION AFTER ALL?"
What the People Expect and Want >From The Elections May Not Come True
Politics By Anatoliy Gritsenko, Zerkalo Nedeli, Mirror-Weekly
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, 14 - 20 February 2004
10. "HOLODOMOR BID STEPS UP"
[Welshman Gareth Jones, Walter Duranty, NY Times and Senator John Kerry]
By Daniel Davies, The Western Mail, Cardiff, Wales, Feb 16 2004
11. TRANSATLANTIC PARTNERS AGAINST AIDS ORGANIZATION
TO OPEN OFFICE IN UKRAINE SAYS PRES JOHN TEDSTROM
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2004
12. "THE PROFANE AND THE SACRED"
The Church and the Recent Visit by Russian President Putin to Ukraine
By Klara Gudzyk, The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, February 10 2004
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=========================================================
1. ONE-THIRD OF ALL UKRAINIANS WOULD LIKE TO MOVE
TO ANOTHER COUNTRY ACCORDING TO OPINION POLL
Only 37 per cent of 18-year-olds would stay in Ukraine
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 6 Feb 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Feb 16, 2004
Kiev, 16 February: One out of three Ukrainian citizens would like to move to
another country, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Democratic
Initiatives fund and the Kiev international sociology institute between 23
January and 1 February. A total of 2011 people were polled across Ukraine.
If granted an opportunity to move to another country with their family, 33.8
per cent would go ahead and move, 61.5 per cent would stay and 4.7 per cent
could not answer the question.
About 7.7 people would choose to move to Russia, 7.4 per cent would go to
Germany, 3.9 per cent to Canada, 3.8 to the USA, 1.8 per cent to France, 1.2
per cent to the United Kingdom, 1.2 per cent to Israel, 0.9 per cent would
go to another country of the former Soviet Union and 6 per cent would move
to another country outside the former USSR.
The poll indicated that the majority of potential emigrants are young and
have higher education. Of those who did not finish secondary school, 82.1
per cent would choose to stay in Ukraine, while 59.6 per cent of those who
did finish secondary school would stay. Only 49.8 per cent of university
graduates would like to stay in Ukraine.
Only 37 per cent of 18-year-olds would stay in Ukraine, 58 per cent of those
between 40 and 49 years of age and 91 per cent of people above 80 years.
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
========================================================
2. "UKRAINE'S CONSTITUTION IS FINE AS IT IS"
By Yuliya Tymoshenko, Member of Ukraine's Parliament
Financial Times, FT.com site; UK, Feb 16, 2004
Constitutions are the closest thing to something permanent in politics. They
should never be revised to benefit one person alone. But in Ukraine that is
precisely what is happening. President Leonid Kuchma is proposing to junk
Ukraine's current presidential system. Earlier this month Ukraine's
parliament gave preliminary approval to a bill that would shift power to the
prime minister and give the president a largely ceremonial role.
When a president volunteers to slash his own powers, it is natural to be
suspicious about his motives. In Mr Kuchma's case, such scepticism is amply
justified. He wants to change Ukraine's constitution not because he has
suddenly realised that parliamentary systems are superior to presidential
ones, but simply to maintain his grip on power. He knows that, as things
stand, he is unlikely to retain power when his second term as president
comes to an end later this year.
Under the present constitution, the president enjoys wide-ranging powers. He
maintains day-to-day control over most aspects of government. In the case of
a country such as Ukraine, this set-up has merit. The transition from
communism has been difficult; a government that can act decisively to push
through economic and political reform is essential. The presidential system
offers the possibility of such decisiveness. To change a system that seems
well suited to Ukraine's circumstances, a good reason is needed.
Mr Kuchma does not have such a reason. In fact, what is wrong with Ukraine
is not its constitution but Mr Kuchma and his administration, who are dogged
by allegations of corruption and of complicity in the murder of a
journalist. He is shunned by other world leaders and is deeply unpopular
with his people. He knows that he has little chance of re-election and that
is why he has come up with his plan for a "parliamentary republic".
Under this system, Ukraine would have a weak president and powerful prime
minister. The prime minister, who would not have to be an elected
politician, would be chosen by parliament. Mr Kuchma is confident that the
interest groups that he controls would have the upper hand in any
parliament; hence it is certain to pick Mr Kuchma or, if for some reason he
chooses not to stand, one of his protégés as prime minister.
People too easily forget Ukraine, this big, poor country on the border of
the soon-to-be enlarged European Union. But any attempt to prolong Mr
Kuchma's rule will create such a political mess that it is not absurd to
fear that Ukraine could follow the example of Belarus or the Balkans in the
early 1990s, and lapse into dictatorship or chaos. That could prompt
intervention by Russia, which would be unlikely to sit and watch its
neighbour unravel. Such a move would represent a step back towards Russian
imperialism.
Luckily, the time is right for the west - particularly the EU - to nudge
Ukraine back from the brink. With EU expansion coming in May, Ukrainians
fear that a new wall will cut their country off at the Union's easternmost
border in Poland. The EU can help if it takes practical steps to reassure
Ukrainians that they will not be isolated from Europe. A generous visa
regime and the use of regional development funds to benefit eastern Poland,
and thus western Ukraine, are two possible inducements. But these should be
made conditional on the country's constitution staying as it is.
America should consider what it can do to help as well. It should not be
constrained by Mr Kuchma's decision to send troops to Iraq. Can America's
fidelity to democracy in Ukraine really be so cynically purchased?
But the main task of assuring Ukrainian democracy must fall to Ukrainians.
Opponents of the current regime must put aside rivalry and unite into a
single force; isolated opposition figures are too vulnerable to the
government's blandishments and threats.
That united opposition must also offer Mr Kuchma a way to leave office and
yet feel safe. Hard as it may be for many to accept, he should be offered an
amnesty from prosecution if he leaves office peacefully. A peaceful transfer
of power, as happened in Georgia, must be the priority. As for Mr Kuchma's
cronies, they should be offered the same deal that the newly elected
President Vladimir Putin offered Russia's oligarchs four years ago: keep
your ill-gotten gains, but stay out of politics.
No one should doubt that Mr Kuchma intends to stay in power, no matter what.
What is uncertain is whether he will feel secure enough to hold the
presidential election scheduled for this autumn (or any other kind of
ballot) if he cannot change the constitution in a way that guarantees his
continued misrule. It is, after all, Mr Kuchma who is discredited, not
Ukraine's constitution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The writer, a former first deputy prime minister of Ukraine, is an
opposition party leader and former executive in Ukraine's energy industry
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
Build Ukraine Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
========================================================
3. CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AGREEMENT NEARS COMPLETION
INSIDE UKRAINE (IU), Kyiv, Ukraine, February 17, 2004
Kyiv - Parliamentary leaders are expected to sign an agreement detailing
legislative action on constitutional reform in several days. The agreement
assumes coordinated activities to approve a pure proportional system of
electing members to the Verkhovna Rada and local law-making bodies, and
allows for a national referendum on constitutional reform at the insistence
of the Our Ukraine faction. However, OU's requested referendum is expected
to get no further than the discussion stage.
With the pro-presidential majority plus the Communist and Socialist factions
already in agreement, majority leader Stepan Havrysh's statement on 1+1 TV's
Epicenter program on Sunday that "Constitutional reform has a 100 percent
probability of passage" appears to have good grounds.
Approval of the constitutional reform as now proposed would mean direct
election by popular vote of a president in October 2004 for a two-year term,
followed by a second direct election of a president for a full five-year
teem in 2006.
The agreement to preclude Rada election of the president is the major change
in the constitutional reform package agreed so far and is thought to be
recognition of the overwhelming disapproval of the Ukrainian public for the
Rada presidential election concept.
Although all recent public opinion polls continue to give approval ratings
for Our Ukraine leader, Viktor Yushchenko, of 20 percent or more, there is a
consensus that a strengthening Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, now with an
approval rating of about 11 percent, may be able to combine increased
popularity with extensive use of the administrative resource to overcome
Yushchenko in the presidential election.
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine base continues to weaken, with Oleksandr
Omelchenko, the son of Kyiv's city mayor, and influential businessman Yuriy
Artemenko leaving the faction. Earlier, Taras Chornovil, son of the famous
Rukh independence leader, announced his departure from OU. The departures
have been blamed on instability in the OU headquarters and Yushchenko's
inability to take a strong stand in solving strategic problems.
Late on Monday, the pro-presidential majority announced that it expects to
announce its support for a single consolidated candidate later this week.
Observers believe that candidate is certain to be Yanukovych. (END)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Travel and Tourism Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/tourgallery.htm
=========================================================
4. CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS AND LAND OF IVANO-FRANKIVSK
Mountains of Opportunities, Ukrainians begin to cash in on tourism
By Volodymyr Denysenko, The Day,
The Day Weekly Digest in English, Kyiv, Ukraine, February 10, 2004
The land of Ivano-Frankivsk is a small country of mountains, foothills, and
plains. Lying between the rivers Bystrytsia-Nadvirnianska and
Bystrytsia-Solotvynska, Ivano- Frankivsk originated as the village of
Zabolottia (across the swamp) near Kniahyn and Pasichna and was renamed
Stanislav under Count Pototsky. Old-timers still call it Stanislav.
The Carpathian Mountains, which cover almost half the oblast, run in two
mountain ranges, Horhany with its peak Syvulia (5,964 ft) and Chornohory
with its peak Hoverla (6,762 ft). The land of Ivano-Frankivsk boasts 3,500
monuments of history and culture protected by the state. Among the most
prominent are the Church of St. Panteleimon in Shevchenkovo outside Halych,
castles in Rakovets and Chernelytsia, the Maniava Skyt Monastery, and wooden
churches in Vorokhta, Dora, and Kolomyia.
The storied mountain lakes Nesamovyte, Brebeneskul, and Lebedyn are
the true gems of the land. All of these places can be a magnet for tourists.
The most important thing is to spin things the right way.
"Tourism is a strategic direction for our oblast. We will consider the
problem solved only after 40% of the oblast's budget revenues come from
tourism," Ivano-Frankivsk oblast governor Mykhailo Vyshyvaniuk is convinced.
According to statistics, last year for the first time the oblast's budget
received UAH 10 million from tourism. Figures have always been a more
convincing argument than empty phraseology.
The authorities promise a favorable climate for investors. As an example
they cite the fact that last year money for the development of the region
began to trickle from all corners of Ukraine. "We are open to investment,
the nationality and faith of investors notwithstanding. We would like
investment to help create new well-paying jobs in the oblast," says the
governor, adding that "tourism is a complex and multifaceted sector
involving a thick layer of various problems and unsolved issues.
A common misconception is that tourism is all about building a hotel with
all the amenities. Before this, safe and quality food must be provided.
Tourists want to see the culture and daily life, for which purpose a great
many specialists should be trained, of which there are extremely few today.
Only after accomplishing this can we expect every guest of ours to spread
word about our land." It is possible to put the officials' words to the test
only by seeing everything first hand.
Nature has created the groundwork for the development of tourism. It is up
to those inhabiting this land to develop it. In Ivano-Frankivsk oblast this
process is progressing at a rapid pace. Hotels, recreation and tourist
centers are mushrooming. In recent years several European-class hotels
have been built in the region, which is only the beginning.
"--------------------------------------------------------"
NOTE: To read the entire important article about the tourism in the
Carpathian Mountains and see color photographs click on:
http://www.artukraine.com/travel/carp_mount.htm
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
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5. AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY, AMBASSADOR NEEDED IN UKRAINE
There are some 30,000 people of Ukrainian ancestry living in Australia
Canberra Times, Canberra, Australia; Feb 17, 2004
CANBERRA - A group of leading Ukrainian politicians and business people
will push for a designated Australian ambassador to their country, the
group's leader, Taras Chornovil, [member of the Ukrainian parliament] said
in the Australian capitol of Canberra yesterday. The matter would be raised
at a meeting with the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander
Downer, today, he said.
Mr Chornovil, who is secretary of the Ukrainian- Australian Parliamentary
Group, said that with no ambassador or consul general in Kiev,
Ukrainian-Australian affairs had to be handled through Australia's
representative in Moscow. ''It is very busy and in order to promote
contacts, we need an ambassador from your country,'' he said.
''We have had 12 lost years since our independence after the break-up of the
Soviet Union. ''There are a number of agreements waiting to be signed
covering the mutual protection of investments and other trade issues.'' He
said the popular wisdom was that Ukraine was a poor country always seeking
handouts, but that was far from the truth. ''We are rich in resources, and
it would be in both our interests if Australia and Ukraine were to cooperate
further,'' he said.
Whatever the result of Ukraine's call for an ambassador, links with
Australia are likely to blossom over the next 12 months. Mr Chornovil said
the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Neil Andrew, was
expected to visit Ukraine ''in the near future'' and the Ukrainian president
(currently Leonid Kuchma) was scheduled to come here in the first half of
2005. There are some 30,000 people of Ukrainian ancestry living in
Australia. (END) (ARTUIS)
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UKRAINE REPORT-2005, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
=========================================================
6. ANCIENT TRYPILLIAN CIVILIZATION
Study and Tour in Ukraine, Summer 2004
By Mykola Ponomarenko, Kolos Corporation
Alexandria, VA, February 13, 2004
Trypillian Civilization is an archeological name for the Neolithic culture
hat existed on the territory of present-day Ukraine from 5,400 BC to
2,750 BC.
Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Ukraine, is offering a Study Course about the
Trypillian Civilization, available to foreign students. This course, taught
in English, will be held in Ukraine from June 14, 2004 to June 27, 2004.
The course is an introduction to Trypillian culture and is taught by a
leading scientist in the field - archaeologist Dr. Mykhailo Videiko. The
course contains 3 credit hours of class instruction, seminars and field
trips. It includes trips to archeological excavations, a Ukrainian village,
different Trypillian museums, a Trypillian ceramics studio and more.
This program provides not only historical and archeological knowledge
about a 7,000 years old ancient civilization, but a possibility to
experience ancient Ukraine through the eyes of modern man. For more
information on the Study Course see our web site:
http://www.trypillia.com/study/overview-study.shtml
After the Study Course there will be a Trypillian Tour, which is open to
anybody. This special small-group tour will be escorted by Dr. M.
Videiko and can be a valuable addition to the Trypillian Study Program.
But this tour was developed with tourist interests in mind and can be
taken independently from the Study program or in combination with the
Study program. For more information on the Trypillian Tour see our
web site: http://www.trypillia.com/travel/schedule.shtml
Contact information: Mykola Ponomarenko, Kolos Corporation
5841 Colfax Ave, Alexandria, VA 22311, (703) 593-8522
kolos@kolos.com, http://www.trypillia.com
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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7. UN PROGRAM IN UKRAINE DENIES MISMANAGEMENT,
BUYS EMERGENCY DRUGS FOR HIV-AIDS PATIENTS
Associated Press Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Feb 16, 2004
KIEV....The United Nations Development Program in Ukraine on Monday denied
allegations that it had mismanaged grants to fight HIV-AIDS, saying it had
arranged emergency shipments of medicine to help stem one of the fastest
growing infection rates in the world.
UNDP's decision comes after the Ukrainian government accused the
U.N.-administered Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria of
unjustifiably withdrawing US$25 million in support for government-run
programs to stem the HIV-AIDS epidemic, citing mismanagement, delays and
concerns that Ukraine's stock of AIDS medicines was in danger of running
out.
The Health Ministry said requests to buy medicines for HIV-AIDS patients
went unanswered. Of the US$25 million earmarked for Ukraine, the fund has
paid out US$7.5 million, but only US$740,000 has been spent.
The Global Fund cited major problems with programs run by the Ministry of
Health and a non-governmental organization, and lesser concerns about a
UNDP-administered prevention program.
Helen Petrozolla, UNDP program manager for HIV-AIDS prevention in Ukraine,
insisted UNDP was not responsible for buying medicines under the original
program, adding that the agency strictly followed international standards in
distributing some $US462,000 of the Funds' money to prevent the disease's
spread among drug users, sex workers and prisoners.
Ukraine budgeted 14 million hryvnyas (US$2.64 million) in 2004 for fighting
HIV-AIDS, including anti-retroviral treatments. The government had expected
the U.N.-administered Fund to provide all additional financing.
Ukraine is the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe with the one
of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. Officially, some 68,000
people are registered as HIV-positive, but experts estimate 500,000 people _
more than 1 percent of the population _ are infected. (tv/mb) (END)(ARTUIS)
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UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
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8. TROUBLED TIMES FOR NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS IN UKRAINE
By Ivan Khokhotva, BBC Monitoring research, Kyiv, Ukraine
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Feb 16, 2004
KYIV.......Radio Svoboda, the Ukrainian-language service of US-funded
Radio Liberty, has joined the growing list of critical media outlets to be
put out of business in Ukraine this year. Svoboda's Ukrainian partner Radio
Dovira has said it will stop rebroadcasting Svoboda's news and current
affairs programming on the popular FM band on 17 February.
Listeners of Svoboda, one of the few media outlets not controlled by
President Leonid Kuchma and his supporters, will now have to rely on
crackling short-wave broadcasts, just as in Soviet times. Dovira says its
decision was commercially motivated, arguing that Svoboda's programmes
were clashing with its new entertainment format.
But President Kuchma's critics at home and abroad say Svoboda's difficulties
are part of a campaign to muzzle the free media. The European Union, the
media watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Radio Liberty itself have
issued strongly-worded condemnations of Svoboda's closure.
The US embassy in Kiev said it was "especially deplorable in an election
year in Ukraine, when the need for news and information from a variety of
independent sources is greatest".
STILL COUNTING
Of Kiev's 20-odd FM radio stations, only three could be described as having
an opposition leaning. Dovira was one of them - until its boss was replaced
by a supporter of President Kuchma last month. The second radio station,
Radio Roks, had its transmitters switched off last month by the local health
authority, in what critics suspect was another case of the government using
the state machinery to silence opponents.
The last of the three stations, Radio Kontynent, which rebroadcasts the BBC
Ukrainian Service, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle in Kiev, has often
been on the brink of closure. The station finally obtained registration in
January, after several years of trying. But it is still suffering from what
media analysts describe as "soft jamming" - constant interference from
another FM station which makes the quality of reception a turn-off for all
but the most avid listeners.
Television and papers aren't immune to such problems, either. A court in
Kiev ordered in late January that the largest-circulation opposition daily
Silski Visti be closed down, on the grounds that it had published two
anti-Semitic articles.
The author of the articles, the head of a management academy loyal to the
government, and the academy's own magazine which published similar articles,
escaped unscathed. The opposition paper Lvivska Gazeta was ordered to
pay a heavy fine by the taxmen after running a series of articles alleging
corruption in the tax service.
And Channel 5, the last independent television station regularly featuring
President Kuchma's opponents, has been dragged to court by a smaller rival,
and is facing the threat of losing its right to broadcast. Analysts say
similar tactics were applied by the government against the once-feisty One
Plus One channel in the run-up to the 2002 parliamentary elections.
"UNDENIABLY POLITICAL"
Viktor Yushchenko, the reformist former prime minister who leads opinion
polls ahead of the October election, described Svoboda's closure as "an
undeniably political decision made at the highest level". The government
insists it had no hand in Svoboda's woes. Svoboda itself says it will do all
it can to persuade Dovira to change its mind or find another Ukrainian
rebroadcaster.
A senior Radio Liberty delegation from Washington is now expected in Kiev in
an effort to resolve the stalemate. But if Yushchenko is right, the
US-funded radio will have its work cut out trying to get its news back on
the Ukrainian airwaves. (END) (ARTUIS)
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UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
Support Ukraine Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/uasupport/index.htm
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9. "SO, IS IT PROLONGATION AFTER ALL?"
What the People Expect and Want From The Elections May Not Come True
Politics Topic of the Week: By Anatoliy Gritsenko
Zerkalo Nedeli, Mirror-Weekly
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, 14 - 20 February 2004
The country is in suspense over the upcoming presidential elections, and
looking forward to a change for the better.
The people expect that (as per the current election system) a general
election will be held; a new president with a new platform will be elected,
who will dismiss all the corrupt bureaucrats and put new people in positions
of responsibility; that these new people will implement the president's
electoral promises and really take care of the nation; and meanwhile, life
in the country will gradually improve.
People worn out by the hardships the authorities brought upon them have a
right to hope for change. However, their hopes might never come true, at
least not until 2006.
Their hopes may never come true because the existing political regime may
persist, should the Medevedchuk-Symonenko-Moroz plan to amend the
Constitution be put into place. Moreover, core clans in the current
President's entourage who have been steering the country's development for
several years now may solidify their political clout. No renewal, or even a
rotation, would occur in the ruling team.
The political course would remain unchanged. Instead of the promised
harmonious operation of all branches of power, we will get a new president
confronting the old bureaucracy, a confrontation that could threaten to grow
into a long-lasting and severe conflict. Nobody would be occupied with the
nation and its interests.
"----------------------------------------------------------"
NOTE: To read the entire important commentary on the political scene in
Ukraine click on link: http://www.mirror-weekly.com/ie/show/481/45585/
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UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
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10. "HOLODOMOR BID STEPS UP"
[Welshman Gareth Jones, Walter Duranty, NY Times and Senator John Kerry]
By Daniel Davies, The Western Mail
ic.WALES: The National Website of Wales, Cardiff, Wales, Feb 16 2004
THE CAMPAIGN to strip a journalist of his Pulitzer Prize for ridiculing a
Western Mail journalist who uncovered famine under Stalin is to call for
backing from Democrat front runner John Kerry.
In an effort to defrock New York Times reporter Walter Duranty of his
Pulitzer because he discredited Welshman Gareth Jones's expose of starvation
in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, Ukrainian campaigners will try to enlist
the help of presidential hopeful Kerry through his wife.
Teresa Heinz Kerry's first husband was an heir to the Heinz food dynasty
[see note below about U.S. Senator H. J. Heinz III (John)].
In August 1931, Gareth Jones visited Russia and Ukraine with Jack Heinz
II - heir to the food empire - where they both saw evidence of famine.
But Walter Duranty later criticised Mr Jones.
In November last year the Pulitzer prize committee said it would not revoke
Duranty's prize after a campaign led by Ukrainians angry that the famine -
known as the Holodomor - was not being given its proper historical
significance.
Mr Jones's diary from his visit to Russia and Ukraine with Heinz, found in
an aunt's home in Barry, could be the first primary evidence gathered by a
Western observer of starvation caused by Stalin's collectivisation drives.
After working for David Lloyd George, Mr Jones returned to Ukraine in 1932
and in a series of articles for The Western Mail reported how Stalin's
policies were resulting in starvation across the then Soviet republic. In
March 1933, Mr Jones called a press conference in Berlin where he told the
world of the plight suffered by the Ukrainian and Russian peoples.
A fluent Russian speaker, he was one of few foreigners to travel around the
rural Soviet Union. He told the New York Evening Post at the time,
"Millions are dying of hunger. Everywhere was the cry, 'There is no bread.
We are dying'.
"In the train a Communist denied to me that there was a famine. I flung a
crust of bread which I had been eating from my own supply into a spittoon.
A peasant fellow-passenger fished it out and ravenously ate it. I threw an
orange peel into the spittoon and the peasant again grabbed it and devoured
it."
The famine would eventually claim the lives of between seven to 10 million
people. But Duranty swallowed the Stalinist propaganda and wrote, "Since
I talked with Mr Jones I have made exhaustive inquiries about this alleged
famine situation.
"There is no actual starvation or death from starvation, but there is
widespread mortality from diseases due to malnutrition."
Professor Lubomyr Luciuk, of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties
Association, said, "The campaign will continue. We are publishing materials
on the campaign to date in a book, due out this May, entitled Not Worthy:
Walter Duranty's Pulitzer Prize and The New York Times.
"Just yesterday, discussions were initiated with representatives of the
Government of Ukraine about future efforts that will involve Ukraine itself
more directly in the campaign to see Walter Duranty's ill-got Pulitzer
revoked or returned."
Mr Jones's niece, retired GP Dr Margaret Colley, and his great-nephew
Nigel Colley run a website devoted to keeping the journalist's legacy alive
at http://colley.co.uk/garethjones.
Last November, Dr Colley gave a lecture at Colombia University in New
York on Mr Jones's reporting of the Holodomor. She said, "His only crime
was his journalistic pursuit of the truth. Sticking his head above the
parapet,
he refused to be silenced, on righting the moral injustices of the Soviet
famine, which from first-hand knowledge, he clearly knew to be true."
She said yesterday, "I am disappointed, but I do feel that because of the
Pulitzer award rejection that it has brought Gareth's name to the fore.
"My great object in life is promoting Gareth because he has been airbrushed
out of history, particularly Welsh history. "I can remember Gareth. He was
very cheerful, very likeable and outward going." (END)(ARTUIS)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTE: The person Welshman Gareth Jones spent time with
in the early 1930's in the U.S.S.R. (including Soviet Ukraine), referred
to in The Western Mail article above, was H. J. Heinz II (Jack) of the
famous Heinz Company and Heinz family of Pennsylvania.
Jack Heinz's only child was H. J. Heinz III (John). John was a leading
Republican U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania at the time of his tragic
death April 4, 1991 in an airplane accident. Mrs. John (Teresa) Heinz then
later married John Kerry, a Democrat U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.
This is the Gareth Jones connection to the Democratic U.S. presidential
candidate front runner, U.S. Senator John Kerry, mentioned in the
article above.
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. TRANSATLANTIC PARTNERS AGAINST AIDS ORGANIZATION
TO OPEN OFFICE IN UKRAINE SAYS PRES JOHN TEDSTROM
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2004
Kyiv - An office of the TransAtlantic Partners Against AIDS organization
is to open in Ukraine within a month. Organization President John Tedstrom
announced this during a meeting with Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chairman
Volodymyr Lytvyn in Kyiv Monday.
Parliamentary press service chief Viktoria Shvedova told the press
after the meeting that the parties had discussed the problem and the
ways of counteracting the spread of AIDS in Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, Ukraine is in the first ranks by the pace of the
HIV/AIDS syndrome spread," Lytvyn emphasized adding that the
financing of fight on AIDS does not meet the real demands of the state.
It is also necessary to organize closer coordination of efforts by the
Ukrainian and international organizations in charge. "This problem is
of a global character. I believe, we will be able to make real steps with
your support," Lytvyn told the foreign guest.
Under the Health Ministry information, over 62,000 HIV-infected
people were registered in Ukraine by January 1 this year. 3,592
people died of AIDS. In 2003 alone, 10,000 people contracted HIV
infection. According to the Health Ministry, 6,750 people, including
208 children, are diagnosed "final stage of AIDS." (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 25: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
========================================================
12. 'THE PROFANE AND THE SACRED"
The Church and the Recent Visit by Russian President Putin to Ukraine
By Klara GUDZYK, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, Kyiv, Ukraine, February 10 2004
The recent visit by Russian President Putin to Ukraine had a religious
aspect to it, aside from its many other aspects. Putin has again confirmed
the historic unity of the Russian state and church that, unlike in Ukraine,
has been preserved in Russia through the centuries and that Moscow's
official church policy is but a continuation of its lay policy. Conversely,
it would be correct to say that at certain points in his recent visit Putin
acted as if he were an envoy of the Moscow Patriarchate.
In his address at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery of the Caves, Putin
claimed to know about the problems of a schism in Ukraine's Orthodox
Church ("We are with you heart and soul"), yet he is not interfering and
will not interfere with the church affairs (that is, with the church affairs
of a different state). He was kind to say this, especially if you recall
that Russian emperors have always considered it their holy duty to "protect"
Orthodox believers abroad, which they did for the benefit of the empire.
Further, the guest of honor uttered the symbolic words that have quite
clearly described the general direction of Moscow's both church and secular
policy toward Ukrainian Orthodoxy: "Ukraine's Orthodox Church is independent
[Putin has been misinformed, to put it mildly, because this applies to the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate - Author]. Its sole
connection with the Russian [church] is canonical and spiritual.
This is something that has remained absolutely single, and we must preserve
this unity for future generations." This way Ukrainians have been given to
understand that in the foreseeable future the current Moscow Metropolis on
Ukrainian territory (Ukrainian Orthodox Church) will remain a part of the
Russian Orthodox Church. Such is the stance of both the Russian church and
Kremlin. Thus, let not the Ukrainian presidents ever again request the
Moscow Holy See to grant the UOC autocephaly or autonomy.
Neither did Russia's president forget to remind the champions of autocephaly
for Ukrainian Orthodoxy about the infamous canonicity or, put simply, that
the independent Kyiv Patriarchate is not canonical and therefore illegal.
This is what the all too familiar clerical writings are all about, showing
complete disregard (or is it ignorance?) of the fact that the Moscow Church
had also lived through times when it was identically "not canonical."
Every word in Putin's speech is of consequence. Consider for example the
image of the church as a "single [? - Author] bond" between Ukrainians and
Russians. This is a quite familiar motif from the repertoire of numerous
Russian and pro-Russian religious publications; it is also voiced by some
high hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In fact, what they mean is a great "historic mission" of the Russian
Orthodox Church to not only prevent further disintegration of the state but
also restore the Great Russian Empire that has been criminally destroyed by
stupid politicians at the close of the twentieth century; to restore the
empire on the basis of Russian Orthodox unity.
Putin ended his religiously political address with the words: "We remember
and understand full well that Rus' was baptized here on the banks of the
Dnipro. The cradle of Orthodoxy is here." His words are a further reminder
that the Kyiv Church is almost five centuries older than the Moscow Church
and that the Kyiv Church is in fact the mother church of Ukrainian,
Belarusian, Polish, and Russian Orthodoxy. Then why should this church,
contrary to its birthright, remain subordinated to the Moscow Patriarchate?
Putin thanked Metropolitan Volodymyr for his permission to visit the Kyiv
Pechersk Lavra Monastery of the Caves and sent all the Ukrainian hierarchs
(the "canonical" ones, of course) a warm brotherly greeting from Patriarch
Alexis. Putin also decorated and praised those of the Ukrainian clergy who
are the most outspoken in their defense of Moscow Orthodoxy and kindly
praised his Ukrainian counterpart Kuchma for paying much attention to
supporting the church. One needs not specify which church he meant.
Kuchma in turn reminded all that he is "a staunch supporter of the unity of
the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It would be a godsend for us." In his view,
the schism has caused the emergence of many new religious trends and
adversely affected the morals of the clergy: "Some [clerics] mess up in one
church and then switch to a different church and deliver other sermons from
the pulpit - just as it happens in our parliament."
Reading between the lines of Kuchma's speech at the Lavra in the presence of
Putin and remembering his unchanging in recent years thesis about the unity
of Orthodoxy, I suddenly grasped the high degree of ambiguity of these
words. The ambiguous phrase "unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine"
indicates either the unity of Ukrainian Orthodox believers within the
independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine or unification of all Ukrainian
Orthodox believers within the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate under the
pallium of the Moscow Patriarch.
This is a quite apt choice of words, which the conflicting parties can
interpret and cite as they see fit, both gladly agreeing with the president.
The storied oracles used similar ploys in olden times and were never wrong.
As a closing remark, I will quote a letter to The Day from our devoted
reader and regular contributor Borys Filipchenko: "How should a
patriotically-minded citizen of Ukraine and a parishioner of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate feel after watching a televised
report on the reception of the Russian president at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Monastery of the Caves?
I for one pictured a visit by Tsar Peter I attending a meeting of the Kyiv
Holy See, where he kindly praised Ukrainian hierarchs for their loyal
service to the Russian throne. (END) (ARTUIS)
LINK WITH PHOTOS: http://www.artukraine.com/historical/gudzyk.htm
========================================================
ARTICLES ARE FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
========================================================
NEW BOOK: Three Hundred Eleven Personal Interviews, Famine 32-33.
"UKRAINIANS ABOUT FAMINE 1932-1933," Prof. Sokil, Lviv, Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/sokil.htm
========================================================
WEBSITE FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION ABOUT UKRAINE
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FOLK ART MAGAZINE: NARODNE MYSTETSTVO
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