"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 243
The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, THURSDAY, December 2, 2004
NOTE: The Action Ukraine Report has increased its production
schedule because of the extraordinary events happening in Ukraine.
We are now publishing two Report's each day, whenever possible,
to try and keep up with the huge flow of very important articles.
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. "THREE MOVES TOWARDS CHECKMATE"
OP-ED by L.A. Wolanskyj, founder of Eastern Economist
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 2, 2004
The Action Ukraine Report, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, December 2, 2004
2. LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
To the president of the Russian Federation, Mr. Putin, V. V.
cc: world media agencies, In Russian, Ukrainian and English
>From Sergey Pisarev, Entrepreneur
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 2, 2004
Copy of Letter Sent To: The Action Ukraine Report
Washington, D.C., Thursday, December 2, 2004
3. STATEMENT BY U.S. CONGRESSMAN ROBERT ANDREWS
I am honored to join the people of Ukraine in their call for justice
Congress of the United States, House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515, Monday, November 29, 2004
4. MRS. YANUKOVYCH WEIGHS IN
Spouse tries to burnish prime minister's image with rambling speech
By Peter Byrne, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Dec 02, 02:48
5. "FREEDOM CANNOT BE STOPPED"
By John Radzilowski, FrontPageMagazine.com
Thursday, December 2, 2004
6. "FACES OF UKRAINE"
The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Thu, December 2, 2004
7. UKRAINE'S VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO SLAMS PRES
KUCHMA'S TRIP TO RUSSIA TO MEET WITH PRES PUTIN
Associated Press, Thu, December 2, 2004 8:34 a.m.
8. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN BLASTS REVOTE DEMAND
BY UKRAINE OPPOSITION LEADER YUSHCHENKO
Kiev Demonstrators Await High-Court Ruling
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Thu, December 2, 2004 3:19 p.m.
9. "UKRAINE: BEHIND THE CRISIS"
Jane's Intelligence Digest, UK, Friday, Dec 3, 2004
10. "KIEV ROCKED BY MUSIC REVOLUTION"
>From Jeremy Page,The Times, London, UK, Thu, Dec 02, 2004
11. MP TARAS CHORNOVIV LEAVES CENTER FACTION FOR
REGIONS OF UKRAINE FACTION
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Dec 2, 2004 (10:46)
12. "OPPOSITION SPURNS NEW VOTE OFFER"
'Winner' says both leaders could step aside
By Ruslan Tracz, Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Wednesday, Dec 1st, 2004
13. "THE THRONE OF THE EMPEROR OF FAMINE"
Remembering the victims of the Ukrainian Holodomor
By Ihor SIUNDIUKOV, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Nov 30, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 243: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. "THREE MOVES TOWARDS CHECKMATE"
OP-ED by L.A. Wolanskyj, founder of Eastern Economist
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 2, 2004
The Action Ukraine Report, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, December 2, 2004
On December 1, three interesting moves took place in Ukraine: The Central
Electoral Committee and Mr. Yanukovych separately declared that the results
of the run-off election were, after all, incorrect, and that the vote should
be declared invalid. The Verkhovna Rada fired the Yanukovych Government.
Pora, a civil liberties group, arrested two snow trucks and a woman with a
briefcase leaving the Presidential Administration on vul. Bankova.
The situation in Ukraine is like a cutthroat chess game where some key
pieces are invisible and White can withdraw any move after the fact, without
Black having a corresponding right to withdraw its countermoves. The Russian
imperial court was nothing if not utterly byzantine in its machinations, and
this is the system Lenin and Stalin re-tooled and handed down to Ukraine's
and Russia's current power-brokers. This is what keeps western political
analysts, and those on the ground here, hopping half-blind, trying to guess
what the next maneouver will be and why.
Why the about-face on the part of the premier, who had so far declared
absolute confidence in the officially-announced election results? Why the
about-face on the part of the CEC, which also stood by its decision until
now? One possible answer can be found in Ukraine's Supreme Court. The
process going on in their tiny chambers may not be at the aloof level of
professionalism of mature rule-of-law countries, but the truth is clearly
being sought and found. Draped in maroon, the civil judges, who are all
lifetime appointees, appear to be taking this momentous decision seriously.
They have already accused the Yanukovych lawyers of delay tactics. For
them, the possibility of working as qualified men and women in the highest
court of the land without constant political interference is undoubtedly
very motivating.
More specifically, the weight of evidence is such that there was systematic,
massive interference in the election process. There is also reason to
suspect that an honest re-run may be hard to secure without enormous costs,
legal changes and efforts that might not be mobilized within the timeframe
needed to keep the country's economy from going into a tailspin. If the
preponderance of evidence shows that falsification affected the election
even half as much as the Committee of Voters of Ukraine claims-2.8 million
faked ballots or 10%-, then Mr. Yushchenko can be automatically declared
the rightful winner with a comfortable 2% lead over his rival. Hence, the
sudden flurry of castling.
How legitimate is the Verkhovna Rada's decision, squeaked in at 228, only
two votes to spare, to fire the Yanukovych Cabinet and will Mr. Kuchma, as
president, sign off? According to the Constitution, the Rada did absolutely
right. It first withdrew its support from the Government's program, the
basis for the premier's current year-long immunity from non-confidence
votes. It then passed a vote of non-confidence in the Government. Mr.
Kuchma should sign off, but his signature is not mandatory, according to
the Constitution. Hence his furious, dismissive response to the vote. Mr.
Yanukovych and his ministers are history. But not only have they been
sent packing.
This move has politically killed a key group of pawns who would-be
king-makers: the Communist Party of Ukraine. With a single prominent
exception-respected poet Borys Oliynyk-the CPU was noticeable by its
absence in the legislature Dec. 1, along with most of the pro-Administration
factions. As deputy Borys Bezpaliy put it, "Yesterday, the Communist Party
completed its journey from Lenin to Yanukovych." The two groups are left
ranting and raving about the dreadful pressure the opposition was putting on
deputies when the crucial vote came up.
The only pressure going on, in fact, was Mr. Yanukovych's right-hand man,
Andriy Kluyev, and other members of the premier's party, who were
terrorizing deputies in the VR hallways. Why? Because the Verkhovna Rada
had agreed to vote on this critical decision by secret ballot. No lawmakers'
names would be registered, and no factions. With the possibility of
retribution removed, the Rada tossed the Government out. The pawns have
become queens.
In Ukraine, the political board is very much tilted in favor of White. It
starts out with the equivalent two queens: the President has enormous powers
himself, and he also appoints the governors of all 24 oblasts of Ukraine.
Black has mostly pawns, a single queen (the Verkhovna Rada) and a few
knights (locally elected mayors and elected radas or councils at all
levels). This is the reason for the decentralized moves seen in Ukraine in
response to calls for separatism: not being Kyiv appointees, local radas and
mayors are a better barometer of local sentiment. So when the governors
began to scream for autonomy, the City of Kharkiv immediately distanced
itself from the seditious move. Over the last few days, more and more
eastern and southern cities and oblast radas have done likewise and their
prosecutors have stepped into the breach as well.
Lack of devolution of power is a key problem with Ukraine's political system
today and, incidentally, what Mr. Putin wants to revert to in Russia. With
oblast governors and county clerks currently all appointed by Ukraine's
president, the general consensus has been that the separatist ploy was all
part of a Kuchma scenario (with Mr. Putin's support). This is where
constitutional reform is so critical in Ukraine. One party like SDPU (o) or
Regiony could never place its people in all regions and at all levels,
including head physicians of local hospitals and middle management of
Ukrtelecom, if not for the current system. Moreover, it is this totally
corrupt and incompetent system that Ukrainians are now fighting to bring
down.
So, the city councils and other elected groups are not so much supporting
the opposition or Mr. Yushchenko personally, as they are responding to
death threats (separatism, authoritarianism) on the part of those (oblast
governors, oligarchs) who not only do not represent the local electorate,
but who are deeply despised for being brutal racketeers. Local elected
officials are effectively supporting greater democracy. And this is having
its snowball effect, like the Great Pomarancia (Orange). As more
Ukrainians realize it's not so dangerous to come out and stand up against
the old regime, more of them are get up the courage to do so.
What relevance is the activity of a group of students painted by the current
regime as crypto-terrorists? When the young men from Pora stopped snow
trucks coming out of the Presidential Administration, they smelled a rat.
Sure enough, buried in the snow were originals of election documents. A
couple of lawmakers swiftly gathered all the soggy documents up, to take to
the Supreme Court hearing. Buried in the briefcase of the woman scurrying
out of the building were, apparently, hundreds of thousands in cash, both
hryvnia and dollars.
As Mr. Yushchenko's Socialist ally Yuriy Lutsenko put it at the beginning of
the Orange Revolution, "Rats and cockroaches hate the light. It's our task
to shine the brightest possible light on what is happening." The rats appear
to be leaving their sinking ship. -30-
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L.A. Wolanskyj can be contaced at: lidia@ln.ua.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
To the president of the Russian Federation, Mr. Putin, V. V.
cc: world media agencies, In Russian, Ukrainian and English
>From Sergey Pisarev, Entrepreneur
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, December 2, 2004
Copy of Letter Sent To: The Action Ukraine Report
Washington, D.C., Thursday, December 2, 2004
An Open Letter
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,
As your former countryman I feel I have every reason for expressing my
opinion regarding the events taking place in Ukraine today and-more
specifically-on the subject of your position towards them.
This is where I stand:
I am not a member of any one of the political parties, nor am I an advocate
of resolving issues out on the streets-especially from behind barricades.
For many years I have been in business in the field of advanced
technologies, my parents "forged the nuclear shield" of the Soviet Union;
my forefathers fought in the revolution, sabers swinging, and toiled for the
good of their country.
I would like you to understand. Thirteen years did not go by for Ukraine or
for Russia without leaving a trace. There is a new generation of free people
with modern thinking who do not wish to go back to the Soviet
times-mentally, economically or politically. These are self-made men,
successful despite various predicaments and the impact of their environment.
They comprise the nascent middle class, the class of individuals who possess
professional qualifications and knowledge, dignity and vision, who came by
their property by earning it and not as a result of theft or redistribution.
These people have traveled the world and can discern cause and effect,
reality and artifice. You should be aware that it is these people that
comprise the base of the civic society in every civilized country. They
have something to lose.
Certainly there are others. Desolate and misled by unprofessional
management, they are beaten down by the avarice of the elite, which has
plundered the assets produced by generations of Soviet people. For various
reasons they could not make their own way in the world. They are easily
manipulated, swayed by demagogy and by ostensibly simple solutions.
Unfortunately, there are many such people in Yanukovich's electorate.
Their problems call for immediate resolution and their voices must be
heard. Today Donbass and Krimea are economic disaster zones.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, you look bad next to Mr. Kuchma and Mr.
Yanukovich. After all, the former only thinks about saving his own skin
and the money that he stole playing Czar and the latter is a swindler-albeit
one who plays on a team with other swindlers and by their rules. This does
not do you honor. It is unbecoming of an intellectual and moreover, it lacks
style. And you did possess the style and authority that no Ukrainian
politician had.
It seems to me that you should at the very least take into account-perhaps
even develop-other scripts and mechanisms for the unfolding events instead
of forcing an issue and pushing through a candidate with a questionable
past, to put it mildly. You ought to interact constructively with other
participants, a different set of players in the political process, if only
to keep face and not be forced to make excuses later. Neither Ukraine nor
Russia needs a victory at any price, especially through lawlessness. Nor is
such a thing possible today. True systematic development and serious results
are reached only when one is working with a strong and equal partner, not
with a browbeaten errand boy who is kept in check-among other things-by
blackmail. There can be no synergy this way.
I would also like to depart from a primitive "caveman" understanding and
interpretation of the problem of national interests. Certainly, both the
States and Europe have their own, but these interests have far more breadth
and diversity than simply to use Yushchenko to strong-arm Russia.
Today Russia still has a chance to walk through an open door, to admit-
the way it is done in civilized society-her mistake in sending premature
congratulations, to take into account the true will of the Ukrainian people.
Respectfully, still
Sergey Pisarev, Entrepreneur
pse@int.kiev.ua
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. STATEMENT BY U.S. CONGRESSMAN ROBERT ANDREWS
I am honored to join the people of Ukraine in their call for justice.
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Monday, November 29, 2004
Over the past two weeks, the citizens of Ukraine have voiced outrage over
the declared results of their recent Presidential election, and have called
for a full and fair counting of the ballots cast in this highly contested
race. I am honored to join the people of Ukraine in their call for justice,
and to call upon all concerned governments to voice their support for a true
showing of democracy in this former Soviet Republic.
The number of abuses reported during the pre-election campaign and on
Election Day indicate that the officially declared results are not accurate,
and therefore should not be accepted by the Ukrainian people or the
international community. As a Member of the US Congress, I urge my
colleagues in Ukraine to keep the interests and will of their people in mind
as they work to decipher the results of this disputed election. The
government is created for the people, and their duty is to carry out the
will of those that they represent. To ensure that the people of Ukraine are
heard, all accusations of election fraud must be thoroughly investigated so
that a just conclusion to this election may be reached. I stand with the
people of Ukraine, and will provide all the support in my power to help
them defend their civic rights.
The entire international community should take notice of the strength and
unity that the citizens of Ukraine have exhibited during this critical
period in their nation's history. They have conducted themselves in a
peaceful and respectable manner while fighting for their civic rights, and
they should be commended for this admirable display of democracy.
Through their strength during this trying period, the Ukrainian people are
proving to the international community that they have, without a doubt,
embraced the freedoms of democracy. For this, they deserve our
unyielding support to ensure that their voices are heard.
Signed,
Robert E. Andrews - Member of Congress
First Congressional District - New Jersey - USA
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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4. MRS. YANUKOVYCH WEIGHS IN
Spouse tries to burnish prime minister's image with rambling speech
By Peter Byrne, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Dec 02, 02:48
KYIV - Lyudmila Yanukovych, wife of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych,
speaks at a rally in Donetsk in support of her embattled husband. Mrs.
Yanukovych assailed opposition demonstrators in Kyiv for leading what
she called an "orange orgy."
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's bid to replace acting president Leonid
Kuchma faltered on Dec. 1 as opposition deputies rammed through a
no-confidence bill calling on President Leonid Kuchma to sack the
floundering Donetsk strongman.
Parliament floored the measure despite Yanukovych's offer a day earlier to
appoint his rival Viktor Yushchenko to succeed him if allowed to take up the
presidency. "I am ready for talks with Yushchenko. Our side is accused of
not wanting transparent talks. This is not true," said Yanukovych, who met
with supporters in the Kyiv's Star Movie Theater (Kinoteatr Zoryany) before
the historic vote.
Yanukovych has offered to stage a new vote in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts,
which backed him in the Nov. 21 run off, if the Supreme Court finds evidence
of electoral fraud there. "I suggest... that neither Yushchenko nor I run
in a new election if these elections mean a split in society, a complete
split and separatism," he said in televised remarks on Nov. 30.
"If [falsification] is not proven and if the court rules in favor of my
victory," Yanukovych added, "I am ready... to offer my rival the post
of prime minister."
The proposals - rejected by Yushchenko - followed a conversation on
Nov. 29 between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and President
Leonid Kuchma. Yanukovych complained to U.S. Deputy Secretary
of State Richard Armitage earlier by telephone about attempts by
Yushchenko supporters to harass members of his family.
More bad news came on Nov. 29 when Serhiy Tihipko, the central bank
chairman and head of Yanukovych's election campaign, resigned abruptly
from both posts. The development came after Moscow-based spin doctors
heaped scorn on their former client over the weekend.
"They picked Yanukovych as a candidate. How is it possible to choose a
person for the job who was convicted several times? What could we do to
convince people to vote for him?" Serhiy Markov, a renowned Russian
political scientist, told the English-language Moscow Times on Nov. 28.
Yanukovych has twice been convicted of criminal offenses. The first time, in
1968, for an undisclosed offense, occurred when the prime minister was aged
18. The second conviction, for assault and battery, came two years later.
Despite no trace of his criminal records existing in Ukraine, independent
Channel 5 found copies of the records in Moscow in early November.
Markov said in the interview that Gleb Pavlovsky, head of the Moscow-
based Foundation for Effective Policy, along with political consultants
Vyacheslav Nikonov and Putin aide Ihor Shuvalov, helped Yanukovych
during the presidential campaign at the Kremlin's request.
Lyudmila Yanukovych, the prime minister's wife, attempted unsuccessfully
to burnish her husband's image during a Nov. 29 rally in Donetsk:
"It's simply an orange orgy there," said the not-quite first lady referring
to pro-Yushchenko protests in Kyiv. "There's rows and rows of felt boots -
all of it American-made! See! And mountains of oranges! Oranges! And the
background is 'orange sea, orange sky...' [a line from "Oranzhevaya Pesnya,"
a popular song for kids - ed.] Gosh! It's just... it's a nightmare!
And look here, guys: those oranges aren't just any oranges - they're loaded.
People - take an orange, eat it - and take another one. See! And the hand
keeps reaching, keeps reaching for it. I was on my way here; there was news.
They said people in the square are getting poisoned, on a mass scale.
Frequent hospitalizations. They bring people in with meningitis! What have
we come to? And they keep standing, keep standing! Eyes simply glazed
over! Just like that!"
Most polls show that Yushchenko will have a significant advantage over
Yanukovych if a repeat runoff election is held in December. -30-
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LINK: http://www.kyivpost.com/nation/politics/21972/
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Please send us names for the free distribution list
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5. "FREEDOM CANNOT BE STOPPED"
By John Radzilowski, FrontPageMagazine.com
Thursday, December 2, 2004
It should have been an easy election victory.
After all, the ruling government party in Ukraine had everything it needed.
They had support from the country's powerful oligarchs whose fat bank
accounts and desire for a pliable government that would allow them to
continue to pillage the economy made them eager supporters of Viktor
Yanukovych, the thuggish favorite of outgoing president Leonid Kuchma.
They had all the major media in their pockets along with the armed forces,
security apparatus, and police. Opposition and neutral media were shut
down or suddenly charged with "tax fraud" by government authorities.
They were backed by Moscow which sent untold millions in additional
campaign donations for the candidate who dances to the Kremlin's tune.
On election day last Sunday, everything went just as planned. Thugs beat up
supporters of reform candidate Viktor Yushchenko. Unknown "criminals"
apparently found it profitable to raid polling places and smash ballot
boxes. At least one poll inspector was found murdered. In some areas public
employees were asked to turn in ballots to their supervisors. Special buses
helped transport "reliable" voters from [one polling place to another?]
polling place to polling place. Regions of eastern Ukraine with large
Russian populations that supported Yanukovych had sudden and unexpected
increases in voter turnout. Regions that tended to back the pro-Western
Yushchenko had equally unexpected declines in turn out.
And then it all went very wrong.
As it became clear the election was being stolen, the Ukrainian people,
supposedly numbed by years of Soviet rule, political corruption, and
powerlessness, said no. Thousands poured into the streets to protest. Then
tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands. Members of the militia began
to join the demonstrators. The government, not the people, acted as if they
were the mindless, numbed ones. The people bypassed the media and
organized themselves with cell phones, blogs, email, and text messages.
Most amazing of all were the testimonies of ordinary Ukrainians from all
walks of life. Isolated by the post-Soviet totalitarian mindset, they have
found they are not so alone. Millions of their fellow citizens share a
desire for democracy and end to corruption:
One farmer said: "I am just a little Ukrainian. But the whole pyramid of
Ukraine is built on top of little people like me. I should be home working
in the soil, but instead I'm here in the (Independence) Square. And I'm not
leaving until we have real democracy."
A woman from Kyiv wrote: "Quite recently I didn't believe that my people
[were] able to resist to violence and humiliation. 2 months ago I guessed
that I live in the worst country in the world. I was oppressed when I could
not see a dignity in my fellow citizens. . I hated that strong negative
feeling rising inside me every time when I saw alcoholics or drug addicts
urinating at a doorway, when I saw students who are [too] timid to reject
extortion of their corrupted professors, when I saw animal obedience of
journalists and governmental administrators toward their masters who even
don't pay them enough. . . . [But on] November 22 I started to be really
proud of my co-citizens. Now I can see that they are not passive mammals who
want just to dig comfortable burrow.Ukrainians, I am happy that I was so
wrong about you before!" (www.tulipgirl.com)
Authoritarian and totalitarian governments have a thousand ways to maintain
power-through any combination of force, corruption, or lies. Yet, these
become meaningless when the people cease to be afraid and cease to believe
the propaganda. This is what has ended scores of totalitarian regimes over
the past two decades.
Naturally, not everyone is happy with this prospect. The thuggish Yanukovych
has already received congratulations on his "victory" from the leaders of
China and Belarus, as well as twice from Vladimir Putin (as if once wasn't
enough). Putin invested major resources in electing a pliable candidate who
would bring Ukraine back into the empire and now it is all slipping away.
One of his top political aides (who also served as an advisor to Yanukovych)
publicly claimed that the revolution in Ukraine was nothing but a
Polish-American plot engineered from Washington by Zbigniew Brzezinski
and his sons. Putin's chief delegate to the EU has bitterly denounced
American involvement" "It's impossible not to see the direct involvement of
the American Congress, individual congressmen who are spending their days
and nights in Kyiv-foundations, non-government organizations, consultants,
experts," Sergei Yastrzhembsky said in an interview on state-run Rossiya
television. "It's clear and obvious to everyone."
While the leadership of the European Union and OSCE has joined with the
U.S. in denouncing the falsified elections and calling for a peaceful
resolution to the crisis and the possibility of new elections, the European
left is seeing a plot of global proportions. An article in this week's
Guardian
tries to paint the situation in Ukraine as an effort by imperialistic and
Russophobic Americans and Europeans to gain control of Ukraine. Openly
supportive of Yanukovych, author Jonathan Steele, accused opposition
candidate Yushchenko of being a either a closet communist or possibly a
closet fascist. A commentator for the British newspaper The Independent
caught up in the prevailing spirit of moral relativism, compared decades of
murderous Soviet control in Ukraine with U.S.-Mexican relations.
Paris's AFP was more nuanced in its reporting, merely noting that "Nations
the world over have slowly begun to split into camps over Sunday's vote.
Britain added its voice to Western nations refusing to recognize pro-Moscow
Yanukovich's win while China joined Russia and authoritarian Belarus in
saying that Sunday's poll was fair." The ever-informative BBC wrote glowing
of Yanukovich, noting that the nearly illiterate oligarch, who has rap sheet
including assault and theft, had "an impressive educational record."
At present the situation in Ukraine rests on a knife's edge and it is
unknown whether this strategic nation of 48 million with its vast potential
will follow the path taken by its Western neighbors, Czech Republic,
Hungary, and Poland, or the path taken by China in Tiananmen Square. The
western regions of Ukraine, with longstanding ties to the west, are offset
by the eastern regions with their large Russian minority, heavy industry,
and the highest levels of corruption.
Ukraine's future is of vital concern to the United States. Under the
Kuchma regime, it was deeply implicated in supplying arms to Saddam
Hussein and other Middle Eastern despots. It has not only been a source
of arms but also a transshipment point for weapons from other countries.
The nation's mafia-like economic elite with their big offshore bank
accounts represent a threat in the world of illegal money laundering,
be it from traffickers in drugs and prostitutes or from international
terrorists.
A free, stable Ukraine is a potential ally in the fight against terrorism
and will certainly not contribute to the kind of instability on which
terrorists and their backers thrive. Democracy in Ukraine will be a major
setback to Russian President Vladimir Putin's effort to return his country
to authoritarian, single party rule. Perhaps most importantly, it will send
again the powerful message that freedom may be delayed but never
stopped. This message will resound from Kyiv to the Sunni triangle, to
Havana, to Pyongyang. -30-
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John Radzilowski, Ph.D., is senior fellow at Piast Institute
(www.piastinstitute.org) and author or co-author of eleven books. He
lives in Minneapolis and can be contacted at jradzilow@aol.com.
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http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16193
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Your comments about the Report are always welcome
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6. "FACES OF UKRAINE"
The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Thu, December 2, 2004
NEW YORK - Ukraine 's election has brought to the forefront of world
discussion several people who while prominent in their own region aren't as
well known on the world stage. Here are details of some of the major
players.
LEONID KUCHMA - current, and outgoing, president of Ukraine .
During his 10 years in office he faced repeated calls for his resignation
amid charges of corruption and criminal misconduct. He spent much
of his presidency attempting to increase the powers of the president.
In early 2004 it became clear he wouldn't be running for re-election,
and during the year his government unveiled several decisions that
appeared calculated to please Moscow and distance Ukraine from
the West, such as troop reductions in Iraq and shifts in oil-pipeline plans.
VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH - current Ukraine prime minister and Mr.
Kuchma's favored candidate for president. He also has garnered the
support of the Kremlin. Mr. Yanukovych's accomplishments as prime
minister since 2002 include increased state economic regulation and
public-sector salaries. During his campaign, he promised closer ties
with Russia and proposed making Russian the nation's second official
language, alongside Ukrainian.
Originally from Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, the 54-year-old has seen
strong support from southern and eastern regions, where voter turnout
was unusually strong in the runoff election. His blue-clad supporters,
minimal in the early days after the election, increased their visibility
several days into the protests. Donetsk plans a January vote on self-rule
to act on the region's frustrated with the idea that the results in Mr.
Yanukovych's favor may be annulled.
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO - former Ukraine prime minister and central
bank chairman, and opposition candidate for president. He is seen as a
pro-Western reformer after having introduced the nation's current currency,
the hryvnia, and spearheaded economic overhauls. His campaign platform
included gaining EU membership and establishing media freedom and an
independent judiciary.
Mr. Yushchenko, 50, has garnered strong support in the country's biggest
cities, including Kiev and Lviv. In autumn, leading up to the first round of
voting, Yushchenko supporters accused his opponents of attempting to poison
and assassinate him. In the first round of voting, among 24 candidates in
late October, he led his closest rival, Mr. Yanukovych, by 0.5 percentage
point, but he trailed by three percentage points in the runoff. Since the
runoff, his backers, wearing orange, have flooded Kiev.
VLADIMIR PUTIN - Russian president, who has spent his time in office
exerting increased control on business interests and the media. He openly
backed Mr. Yanukovych's campaign, and has been accused by Western
observers and Mr. Yushchenko's supporters of being overly involved in the
election. After the runoff vote, the Kremlin initially insisted the results
were legitimate, but it has since backed down from that stance. Moscow
now says it would regard a potential new vote favorably.
VOLODYMYR LYTVYN - speaker of Ukraine 's parliament. Claimed
neutrality in the dispute over the election; many observers believe he
indirectly sided with the opposition. Likely to be appointed head of a
caretaker government after the no-confidence vote the body passed Dec.
1, though his powers in that capacity are likely to be limited and fleeting.
He is considered a possible candidate if a repeat [new] presidential vote
is held. [Source: WSJ.com research] -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring]
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Your comments about the Report are always welcome
========================================================
7. UKRAINE'S VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO SLAMS PRES
KUCHMA'S TRIP TO RUSSIA TO MEET WITH PRES PUTIN
Associated Press, Thu, December 2, 2004 8:34 a.m.
KIEV (AP)--Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko Thursday
criticized outgoing President Leonid Kuchma's trip to Moscow for
consultations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yushchenko said of
Kuchma's trip "the source of power is located in Ukraine - it's the
Ukrainian people."
The president's trip came as tens of thousands of Yushchenko's supporters
massed in Kiev's Independence Square and the capital's tree-lined streets,
heeding his call to maintain their vigil because "victory is near." He urged
the crowds to stay in the streets until a revote of the Nov. 21 runoff with
Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is called and a date set.
Yushchenko, who says his election victory was stolen by government-backed
fraud, suggested such a vote could be held as early as Dec. 19.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule Thursday on the appeal by Yushchenko's
campaign to invalidate the runoff result, based on claims of widespread
violations across Yanukovych's eastern and southern strongholds. The runoff
has been discredited by both sides, with Yanukovych - the officially
declared winner - submitting his own appeal against the results, focusing on
pro-Yushchenko western provinces and the capital.
Yanukovych's appeal has not yet been taken up, but if the court rules in
Yushchenko's favor and declares the vote invalid, considering Yanukovych's
appeal would be pointless. The Supreme Court rejected Yanukovych's
objections to parts of the opposition's appeal Thursday, leaving open the
possibility that the judges might name Yushchenko the president based on
first-round results, which Yushchenko won by a narrow margin. The court
has not yet started deliberating on the merits of the appeal itself.
Ruslan Knyazevich, a member of the Central Election Commission who
refused to sign the official results, told the court that after the polls
closed on Nov. 21, "one million more votes were thrown in." He added
that election data from the east came in later than from other regions,
after
what he suggested was an order to "increase the numbers."
International mediators brought the two candidates and Kuchma together
Wednesday for compromise talks and won agreement from all sides that
they would respect the court's ruling. While a new election in this bitterly
divided nation of 48 million is looking increasingly possible, what remains
unclear is whether Ukraine will stage a repeat of the runoff, as Yushchenko
is demanding -or start the election from scratch, as Kuchma proposed.
Kuchma has pushed for a completely new election in apparent hopes of
fielding a new, more popular successor as his government scrambles to
stay in power with his 10 years in office running out.
Ukrainian media have frequently tipped Yanukovych's former campaign
chief, Serhiy Tyhypko, as the most likely choice. Tyhypko, a young and
charismatic politician, might fare better against the reform- and Western-
oriented Yushchenko than Yanukovych did. Yushchenko, who has led
the opposition for years, said he would accept only a repeat runoff. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
=========================================================
8. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN BLASTS REVOTE DEMAND
BY UKRAINE OPPOSITION LEADER YUSHCHENKO
Kiev Demonstrators Await High-Court Ruling
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Thu, December 2, 2004 3:19 p.m.
KIEV - Russian President Vladmir Putin sharply criticized the Ukrainian
opposition's proposal to repeat the nation's disputed presidential runoff,
even as Ukrainians awaited a Supreme Court decision that could clear the
way for just such a revote. The court adjourned for the day Thursday
without reaching a decision.
Mr. Putin told outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, in Moscow
for consultations over the election crisis, that a revote "would yield
nothing." He said he was "surprised" by the idea of repeating the runoff,
which Ukraine 's opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko is demanding.
"A revote could be conducted a third, a fourth, 25th time, until one side
gets the results it needs," Mr. Putin said sarcastically, in televised
comments from the meeting at a government airport outside Moscow.
President Bush also weighed in on the matter of the election crisis in
Ukraine , saying more forcefully than he has previously that other countries
shouldn't meddle as Ukraine sorts through the disputed vote. "I think any
election, if there is one, ought to be free from any foreign influence,''
Mr. Bush said. "There's different options on the table and we're watching
very carefully what is taking place. But any election in any country must
reflect the will of the people and not that of any foreign government."
He didn't single out any country, but his words seemed to echo those of
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, with whom Mr. Bush met this week
and who explicitly said Russia must not inject itself into the Ukrainian
matter.
Mr. Putin on Tuesday warned that Ukraine 's problem must be solved
without foreign pressure. While it was delivered in a phone call with the
German chancellor, Mr. Putin's message appeared aimed more at the U.S.,
seen by the Kremlin as behind a campaign to install Mr. Yushchenko,
Ukraine's pro-Western opposition leader, at Ukraine 's helm.
Mr. Kuchma has called for holding an entirely new election in the apparent
hope of finding a compromise candidate to replace Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych. The election commission declared the prime minister the
winner, but the opposition claims widespread fraud robbed Mr.
Yushchenko of victory.
Mr. Kuchma's meeting with Mr. Putin came as tens of thousands of
Yushchenko supporters, massed in Kiev, heeding Mr. Yushchenko's
call to maintain their vigil because "victory is near." He urged the crowds
to stay in the streets of the capital city until a revote of the Nov. 21
runoff is called and a date set. Mr. Yushchenko suggested such a vote
could be held as early as Dec. 19.
Mr. Yushchenko also criticized Mr. Kuchma's trip to Russia, saying "the
source of power is located in Ukraine -- it's the Ukrainian people."
Ukraine 's Supreme Court was expected to rule on the appeal by Mr.
Yushchenko's campaign to invalidate the runoff result, based on claims of
widespread violations across Mr. Yanukovych's eastern and southern
strongholds. The proceedings were aired live on television, showing
red-robed judges hearing testimony in the cramped chambers. The
protesters watched on television screens, drinking hot tea to fight off
the afternoon chill.
The runoff has been discredited by both sides, with Mr. Yanukovych -- the
officially declared winner -- submitting his own appeal against the results,
focusing on pro-Yushchenko western provinces and the capital.
Mr. Yanukovych's appeal hasn't yet been taken up, but if the court rules in
Mr. Yushchenko's favor and declares the vote invalid, considering Mr.
Yanukovych's appeal would be pointless. The Supreme Court rejected Mr.
Yanukovych's objections to parts of the opposition's appeal, leaving open
the possibility that the judges might name Mr. Yushchenko the president
based on first-round results, which Mr. Yushchenko won by a narrow
margin. The court hasn't yet started deliberating on the merits of the
appeal itself.
Viktor Yushchenko's supporters raised a Christmas tree in downtown
Kiev Thursday. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.243: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
Suggested articles for publication in the Report are always welcome
=========================================================
9. "UKRAINE: BEHIND THE CRISIS"
Jane's Intelligence Digest, UK, Friday, December 3, 2004
Long before the present post-election standoff in Ukraine, JID warned that a
free and fair election appeared a remote prospect. As the crisis escalates
towards a possible civil war, JID's regional correspondent - who has been
working under cover in Kiev - looks behind the international headlines to
analyse the key role being played by Moscow.
The already tense situation seems set to get worse as 16 oblasts (regions)
in Ukraine's industrialised Russian-speaking east and south-east threaten to
hold a referendum on 12 December. The vote would be the first step towards
establishing greater autonomy - or an ideological split within the deeply
divided nation.
Critics of the proposed referendum warn that such a poll would effectively
bring those regions of Ukraine entirely into Russia's orbit, which many
observers suspect was the original motivation behind Russian President
Vladimir Putin's open support for presidential hopeful, the current Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
According to JID's sources in Kiev, on 28 November the pro-Russian
Yanukovych met in Severodonetsk with an aide of former Russian prime
minister, and current Russian Ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin,
the mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov and the 16 oblast governors. Top of
the agenda was a discussion on greater autonomy for the eastern and
south-eastern oblasts of Ukraine.
Prior to the hotly disputed elections held on 21 November, Moscow had
been offering the possibility of extending Russian citizenship to
Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the Eastern and Southeastern regions such as
Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk. The situation in the latter
could prove particularly volatile, since the population is split between
Russian and pro-Western Ukrainians and any efforts to achieve further
regional autonomy could easily spill over into violence.
The Kremlin has been openly promoting a scheme to create a new economic
power bloc consisting of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan that could
function as counterbalance to the European Union (EU) and the West in
general. Russia and Kazakhstan has very substantial oil and gas reserves,
while eastern Ukraine has tremendous coal reserves, as well as thirteen
Soviet-era steel mills that are still awaiting privatisation. Ukraine is the
sixth largest exporter of weapons, including main battle tanks and other
defence equipment. The country's steel and coal oligarchs have supported
Yanukovych's bid for the presidency. During the campaign that led up to the
second round of the presidential election, the management of all the steel
mills are also alleged to have coerced their employees into voting for the
prime minister.
Yanukovych, a former governor of Donetsk enjoys the close support of Renat
Ahmetov who heads System Kontrol Management (SKM), which controls
Ukraine's donbass coal mines among other businesses. Ahmetov has enormous
influence with the region's coalminers who have played a crucial role in
intimidating voters and Viktor Yushchenko's supporters and who are
expected to take a militant stance should violence erupt across the country.
There has already been open intimidation of foreign election observers. On
29 November, a gang of thugs attacked a long-term observer deployed by the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and a Canadian
citizen working for the John Howard Society, a non-governmental organisation
working in Luhansk, leaving the latter in a coma.
Despite widespread international condemnation of such illegal tactics,
further less than subtle pressure on voting intentions have been reported
from a steel mill on the coast of the Azov Sea. Reliable sources confirm
that the management has already instructed employees to vote in favour of
greater autonomy if the referendum does go ahead on 12 December.
If Ukraine's 16 industrialised regions opt for greater autonomy, there is
the risk that a similar situation to that in Moldova in 1990-91 could
develop.
In that case, the industrialised - and primarily Ukrainian and Russian
speaking - population located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River
chose to break-away from the primarily ethnically Romanian-speaking
majority. This sparked a civil war that led to the intervention of Russian
troops. Today there are an estimated 2,000 Russian troops - remnants of the
14th Army - who guard the Klobasna munitions depot in Transdniester.
Although the Kremlin has not yet offered to deploy troops in support of the
16 potentially separatist oblasts, JID's local sources have revealed that
Russian army special forces units from the Vityaz (Victory) detachment were
deployed to Kiev as early as 23 November. These Spetsnaz units were issued
with Ukrainian interior ministry special forces (OMON) uniforms and bussed
to downtown Kiev where they were ordered to prepare to evacuate sensitive
documents from Kuchma's presidential office, as well as other classified
material from the interior ministry and from the headquarters of Ukraine's
security and intelligence services (SBU).
However, eye-witnesses report that, at least so far, an opposition blockade
of main government buildings in Kiev appears to have prevented the Russians
from accessing key offices.
Our Ukrainian sources suggest that the Spetsnaz units would also evacuate
Russian diplomats including Chernomyrdin, as well as Kuchma and other
pro-Russian members of the current Ukrainian government should the ongoing
anti-Yanukovych protests escalate into a full-scale popular uprising.
Although negotiations between the prime minister's camp and the opposition
are continuing, a civil war - and possible Russian military intervention -
cannot be ruled out. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 243: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Names for the distribution list always welcome
=========================================================
10. "KIEV ROCKED BY MUSIC REVOLUTION"
>From Jeremy Page,The Times, London, UK, Thu, Dec 02, 2004
KIEV - AS A budding teenage musician, Slava Vakarchuk watched in
amazement as Lou Reed and Frank Zappa appeared alongside Vaclav
Havel during the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
He never dreamt of emulating them, but 14 years later he found himself
playing a similar role alongside Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian opposition
leader. Over the past ten days his rock band, Okean Elzy, has performed a
key role in sustaining the opposition protests around Independence Square
in Kiev.
Bands have performed every day, turning the rallies held in freezing
temperatures into a giant street party. But few have played as often and
as passionately as Okean Elzy (Elsie's Ocean) whose hit songs Thank
You and That Day have become anthems of the "chestnut" revolution.
"These elections were so far from being fair and democratic I thought to
myself: why should I be silent when my voice can make a difference?" Mr
Vakarchuk, 29, told The Times. He has also made speeches in support of
Mr Yushchenko and given copies of his new CD to policemen.
Ruslana, the Eurovision Song Contest winner, initially backed Viktor
Yanukovych, the Prime Minister, but later switched sides. Their music keeps
the crowds entertained, but also embodies the values of the young,
Western-minded middle classes who form Mr Yushchenko's support base.
Mr Yanukovych has also enlisted the help of musicians, but the stars that
back him play mostly old Soviet songs or commercial pop. Filip Kirkorov, a
Russian pop star, appeared at many of his rallies, but his efforts backfired
on at least one occasion. At one concert he took his father on to the stage
and encouraged him to declare his support for the Prime Minister. Confused
by the similarity in the two candidates' names, his elderly father shouted
"Yushchenko" into the microphone. -30-
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 243: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
11. MP TARAS CHORNOVIL LEAVES CENTER FACTION FOR
REGIONS OF UKRAINE FACTION
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, December 2, 2004 (10:46)
KYIV - Parliamentary deputy Taras Chornovil has left the Center
faction and entered the Regions of Ukraine faction. The chairman of
the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn disclosed this at a meeting.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on March 2 Chornovil left the
faction of the Our Ukraine coalition, and joined the newly-created
Center faction on April 22. The Regions of Ukraine faction currently
consists of 63 deputies, the Center faction consists of 15 deputies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Such news is shocking and disappointing to those who
knew Taras Chornovil's father and his strong fight for an independent,
democratic Ukraine.
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 243: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
12. "OPPOSITION SPURNS NEW VOTE OFFER"
'Winner' says both leaders could step aside
By Ruslan Tracz, Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Wednesday, Dec 1st, 2004
Winnipegger Ruslan Tracz has been working as an intern at the Kyiv
Post newspaper since August. This is the latest in a series of reports
on this week's events in Ukraine's capital.
KYIV -- The declared winner of Ukraine's presidential election, Prime
Minister Viktor F. Yanukovych, said yesterday he was prepared to accept
a new vote and offered not to run again as long as the opposition leader,
Viktor Yushchenko also stepped aside. Yushchenko dismissed the proposal.
The idea, however, met with approval from one man who had been a
Yanukovych supporter. "We need a third face, one that will stand for
Ukraine. Not Yushchenko, not Yanukovych," said the man, who would
not give his name.
As Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" reaches the midway point of week two,
crowds in the centre of the city remain steady. Many of the students are
still not going to class, although exams are looming and may not be
cancelled. It is also hard to tell how effective is the general the strike
that opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko called for last Thursday. At best,
it is a rotating strike, with people going to work half the day and then
heading to Independence Square in the heart of Kyiv for the other half.
Although the crowd remains steady in size, it has thinned because the
protest now covers a much larger area. With such large crowds, injuries
are bound to happen. Slightly up the hill from Independence Square, on
Instytutska, behind an area from which foreign media broadcast, is a
medical station. Although it's as much a place for people to warm up as
it is a hospital, it does function as a dispensary for medicines and has
a staff of doctors working around the clock.
"We are all here as volunteers. No one here works for money," said
Larissa Melnyk, a nurse from Ivano-Frankivsk. A group of 20 doctors
from western Ukraine recently joined the 46 volunteers.
In the hallways, people lounged on mattresses, sleeping bags or whatever
they could find as they tried to get sleep, simply warm up or eat a quick
meal.
Nearby, drumming echoed against the tall wall of the cabinet ministers'
building as a chorus of men hit metal barrels in nearby Marianskji Park.
They took turns passing sticks back and forth as a crowd chanted
"Yu-shchen-ko! Yu-shchen-ko!" Over the weekend, behind the drummers,
a few women and children handed out sandwiches to hungry protesters.
Marusia Skrobid, one of the people handing out food, explained: "I'm 42
years old and I do not want my two children to live in such a scary, unsafe
country, where bandits want to take the Rada (Ukraine's parliament). We
will not allow our government to continue to follow the pattern of bandits."
Marusia arrived in Kyiv from Lviv the night before, and came straight to
help out fellow protesters. She and her two children Natalka, 10, and
Michael, 7, handed out sandwiches in Marianskji Park.
Less than a block east, people congregate around the Rada building, where a
camp set up by the youth movement Pora -- It's Time -- is located. Within a
few moments of entering the camp last night, we were chatting with Vasyl, a
security guard, who happened to know fellow Plastuny (Ukrainian scouts)
from Winnipeg. After a brief chat, he was more than happy to give us a
guided tour.
The camp sleeps around 250, although that number rises daily as new
military-style tents are pitched. Compared to the main Pora camp on
Khrestchatyk, this one was clearly more disciplined. We even had to
register our presence as journalists at the administration tent, and
protesters who want to sleep in the camp have to register ahead of time.
Last night, the second camp prepared to be inundated with more protesters
as they awaited yet another emergency meeting of the Rada, which was to
be held at 9 p.m. local time. But this one, like others before, was
postponed.
Earlier in the day, protesters surrounded Rada during session and tried to
storm it -- only to be pushed back by guards. The legislature's speaker,
Volodymyr Lytvyn, pleaded to the crowd afterward to show restraint in this
trying time.
The weekend had been filled with talk of separation by the two most eastern
provinces, Donetsk and Luhantsk, the industrial heartland and the base of
power for Yanukovych. By yesterday, that notion was losing steam as key
Yanukovych supporters within the Defence Ministry were playing down the
separation card. Nevertheless, the idea was prompting concerns on the
streets.
"I am very scared because Ukraine is (already) so separated, but so help us
God -- if does come to that I will come here (Kyiv) to live. I would not
live there, said Fedyor, a Yushchenko supporter from Donetsk. -30-
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 243: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
13. "THE THRONE OF THE EMPEROR OF FAMINE"
Remembering the victims of the Ukrainian Holodomor
By Ihor SIUNDIUKOV, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Nov 30, 2004
History is as endless and inexhaustible as life itself. Some of its highly
inspired pages demonstrate the exploits of people who defend their dignity
and divine right to be a free nation, rather than a mass of slaves, and to
freely choose their future. But there also are years of horrible disasters
and epochs of boundlessly cruel tragedies that the human mind is incapable
of fathoming and against which the morality of every sound-minded individual
revolts. But in this case, the word "tragedy" seems to be an empty,
meaningless abstraction that fails to convey the degree of the all-pervading
and unspeakable pain of dealing with the cold-blooded genocide of an entire
nation.
Last Saturday this country marked the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of
the Holodomor [genocide by famine]. We, Ukrainians, may not forget even in
another thousand years what occurred on our soil seventy years ago in
1932-1933 (and earlier, in 1921, and some fifteen years later, in
1946-1947). "Terror by famine" is the name of this heinous crime. Here it
must be emphasized that the famine of the early 1930s was a premeditated
genocide well planned and organized by the Stalin government, whereas the
famines of the 1920s and the postwar years deserve a separate discussion,
for they were caused by both political factors and bad harvests, which
cannot be said about 1932-1933, despite the official Soviet propaganda. Just
one document of those times may give the reader an inkling of what human
language has no words to express.
A Soviet Ukrainian secret police report dated March 12, 1933, describes
the situation known as "terror by famine," which the authors call by the
Jesuitical term "food shortages": "The largest number of famine cases was
recorded in late February and early March. In some places this assumed a
mass-scale nature. Starving households have to eat all kinds of surrogates,
such as corn cobs and stalks, millet flakes, dried straw, grass, rotten
water melons and beet roots, potato peelings, acacia pods, etc. Also
recorded are facts relating to the use of cat, dog, and horseflesh as food.
There were 28 cases of cannibalism, including 19 in Kyiv oblast." Never
before had this kind of thing occurred in the history of Ukraine.
Undoubtedly, remembering this apocalypse (ordinary people used precisely
this word as well as the phrase "doomsday is nigh") is our highest duty if
we are to remain human beings. But there is also another, no less important,
moral debt to the millions of the dead: to thoroughly analyze how and by
what methods the throne of the Emperor of Famine was built and what made
this thing possible. The obvious answer may be that the way to the terror by
famine was made possible by a split in the single Ukrainian nation along
class lines: the kulak exploiter (foe) vs. the middle and poor peasant
(friend). Moreover, it was only up to the authorities to decide who was who.
What also paved the way to genocide was the criminal extermination of
Ukrainian intellectuals, the creme de la creme of the nation, which was
brutally accused of nationalism.
It is no accident that these two processes took place concurrently: on the
one hand, organizing the famine, sealing off most of Ukraine's villages by
means of NKVD units, denying the famine-stricken population access to the
largest cities, and on the other, cracking down on the intelligentsia in
1930-1934. An additional factor contributing to the national disaster was
the "Iron Curtain" that fell between the West and us. Tragically, many
well-known European figures, such as Bernard Shaw, Edouard Herriot, and
Henri Barbusse, categorically denied the very fact of the famine. Finally,
it was the absolute uncontrollability of the government by the people that
paved the way to the apocalypse.
Stalin surely knew what he was doing. The goal was to erase Ukraine from
the world map as a land populated by a distinct people with a pronounced
national identity. Here is what Antonio Gradenigo, a consul in Italy's
embassy in Moscow, reported to his superiors in May 1933: "The current
disaster (terror by famine - Author) will cause Ukraine to be colonized -
predominantly by Russians. This will change its ethnographic nature. And,
perhaps, in the not so distant future there will be no question of Ukraine,
the Ukrainian people and, hence, the Ukrainian problem because Ukraine
will in fact become a Russian land."
This did not happen, although the Stalinist regime spared no effort to
achieve this end. This did not occur, if only because the nation's genetic
memory, despite all the terrors, preserved the "basic code:" we are a united
people and we have the same fatherland. The images of the apocalyptic
terror of 1932-1933 are an excruciatingly painful but inalienable part of
this memory. We must hand down this understanding to our children and
grandchildren if we want them to remain human beings. -30-
=========================================================
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3. KIEV-ATLANTIC GROUP, David and Tamara Sweere, Daniel
Sweere, Kyiv and Myronivka, Ukraine, 380 44 295 7275 in Kyiv.
4. BAHRIANY FOUNDATION, INC. Dr. Anatol Lysyj, Chairman,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA,
5. ODUM- Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent,
Minnesota Chapter, Natalia Yarr, Chairperson
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PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Executive Director, Ukrainian Federation of America
(UFA); Coordinator, The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC);
Senior Advisor, Government Relations, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF);
Advisor, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council, Washington, D.C.;
Publisher and Editor, www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS),
P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013,
Tel: 202 437 4707, E-mail: morganw@patriot.net
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