INSIDE: • Holodomor poster exhibit in Boston — page 5. • An appreciation: A journey with my father — page 7. • Plast’s “Sviato Vesny” and UAYA’s “Zlet” — pages 14-15. HE KRAINIAN EEKLY T PublishedU by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profitW association Vol. LXXVI No. 25 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2008 $1/$2 in Ukraine McCartney makes music history in Kyiv, NATO delegation visits Ukraine performs free concert on the “maidan” to assess country’s progress by Danylo Peleschuk two hours under a torrential downpour by Zenon Zawada Kyiv Press Bureau that lasted late into the night. Fans, how- Special to The Ukrainian Weekly ever, withstood the rain and gathered en KYIV – In an unprecedented and his- masse in the ankle-high puddles speckled KYIV – Amidst rising Russian pressure toric musical event, Paul McCartney, a all across the maidan, shouting toward to prevent Ukraine from integrating further key member of The Beatles, performed the stage and singing along spiritedly into NATO, the alliance’s secretary gener- live in Kyiv on Saturday, June 14, play- despite the harsh conditions. In atten- al, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said he would do everything to enable Ukraine to join the ing songs from his nearly 50-year reper- dance was Ukrainian President Viktor Membership Action Plan (MAP) in toire for the first time ever in Ukraine. Yushchenko, Georgian President Mikheil December and vowed that Russia would The free concert, dubbed the “Paul Saakashvili and world-famous boxer and not affect the decision. McCartney Independence Concert” and Kyiv City Councilman Vitali Klitschko, billed as the largest concert to ever take During a June 16-17 visit to Ukraine, among others. Mr. Scheffer and a North Atlantic Council place in Ukraine, drew somewhere It was only the second time Mr. between 100,000 and 350,00 people onto delegation that encompassed representa- McCartney – or any of the former tives of NATO’s 26 member-states met Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Beatles – has played in a former Soviet Square, in downtown Kyiv. with Ukrainian leaders to assess what Mr. McCartney played for more than (Continued on page 10) progress has been made since the Bucharest summit in April and what meas- ures Ukraine can still take to convince the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in December to approve its MAP member- ship. “I will try to do everything possible to achieve a consensus, but my possibilities Zenon Zawada are limited,” Secretary General Scheffer NATO Secretary General Jaap de told a June 17 press conference at the Kyiv Hoop Scheffer at a press conference in office of Ukrinform, where hundreds of Kyiv on June 17. riot police stood guard to prevent Russian radicals from ambushing the event as they ture and allegiance, such as the Ukrainian did in March 2007 during a press confer- Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate. ence with the U.S. ambassador. More than 59 percent of Ukrainian resi- Following the North Atlantic Treaty dents would vote against NATO member- Organization’s April 3 decision in ship in a referendum, while only 22 percent Bucharest to deny Ukraine a MAP, NATO would vote in favor, according to a poll of membership re-emerged as among the 2,000 respondents conducted by the biggest issues in Ukrainian politics, caus- Western-financed Democratic Initiatives ing the nation’s anti-NATO forces to inten- Fund on March 17-31. sify their protests and the Russian govern- A May poll conducted by the Russian- ment to step up its threats. oriented Sofiya Center for Social Research Victor Pinchuk Foundation The vast majority of Ukrainians are in Kyiv revealed similar results, with more A view of the audience at McCartney’s concert, billed as the largest concert ever against NATO, largely because they still than 61 percent of Ukrainian against staged in Ukraine. It was the first time Paul McCartney or any former Beatle has believe Soviet-era propaganda and belong played in Ukraine. to organizations that promote Russian cul- (Continued on page 8) UNWLA’s 28th convention focuses on unity, traditions by Tamara Cornelison UNWLA. The organization’s vice-president for to the UNWLA membership during one While guests and delegates arriving public relations, Ms. Zajac, spoke about of the convention’s plenary sessions. TROY, Mich. – After months of plan- from all parts of the United States settled various special projects she had undertak- As the meeting drew to a close, ning and preparation, the 28th Conven- into their rooms, members of the national en, including her active participation as a Financial Secretary Roma Shuhan and tion of the Ukrainian National Women’s board gathered for a pre-convention member of the National Holodomor Parliamentarian Oksana Xenos answered League of America (UNWLA), convened meeting to present the final reports of Commemoration Committee and her cor- questions related to new IRS e-filing reg- here at the Troy Marriott Hotel on Friday, their term. Most board members present- respondence with U.S. government offi- ulations for UNWLA branches. Vice- May 23, with delegates and guests arriv- ed abbreviated reports, indicating their cials regarding the Holodomor, including President Hewryk shared some insights ing from far and near. intent to present more detailed reports a letter urging President George W. Bush on non-Ukrainians working in Ukraine, The convention, which continued during the convention’s plenary sessions. to visit the Holodomor monument during particularly Fulbright fellows who enthu- through Memorial Day, Monday, May Vice-President for Culture Sophia his recent visit to Ukraine and encourag- siastically embraced the culture, history, 26, elected a new national board headed Hewryk took advantage of the opportuni- ing him to support Ukraine’s aspirations and language of the country. by Marianna Zajac of Poughkeepsie, ty to speak at the board meeting and to become a member of NATO. During the pre-convention reception, N.Y., and adopted resolutions that will reported on the winners of this year’s President Kurowyckyj suggested that a the featured speaker was Chrystia guide the work of this major Ukrainian Kovaliv Award, as well as a special new national board position, liaison for Freeland, U.S. managing editor of the American community organization for undertaking she had recently completed – members-at-large, be created and that the Financial Times. Ms. Freeland, who the next three-year term and beyond. donating 35 copies of Ukrainian-lan- position should be officially filled by holds a B.A. in history and literature The outgoing president, Iryna guage versions of Harry Potter books to a Roxolana Yarymovych, who has been from Harvard University and a master of Kurowyckyj of New York, who had library in Dnipropetrovsk in order to pro- serving the organization in this capacity studies degree from St. Anthony’s served in that post for nine years, was mote the Ukrainian language in that high- without a seat on the board. Board mem- named an honorary president of the ly Russified part of the country. bers agreed that this should be proposed (Continued on page 12) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2008 No. 25 ANALYSIS NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS Moscow insists on treating Sevastopol PRU questions coalition’s legitimacy shadow government of the Party of the Regions. On April 15 he was appointed the as open question in relations with Kyiv KYIV – The opposition Party of the first deputy secretary of the National Regions of Ukraine (PRU) will soon file a Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. submission to the Constitutional Court (Ukrinform) by Pavel K. Baev basis of “European prices,” but Ukraine questioning the legitimacy of the current Eurasia Daily Monitor cannot avoid the pain. coalition, PRU representative Nestor Council of Europe on Gongadze case These energy matters will be hotly Shufrych said on June 17. He said that the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev debated in various formats in the months party is currently considering this question. KYIV – The Council of Europe (CE) has tried to make a positive impression to come, but what really signified a “The Regions Party has its own opportuni- Committee of Ministers on June 10 passed on every foreign partner he has encoun- punch in Mr. Medvedev’s smooth per- ties for a constitutional submission. I do an interim resolution on fulfillment of a tered in his first month in office, building formance was the accusation that not also rule out talks on this issue with resolution of the European Court on an image of an open-minded, polite and Ukraine’s behavior was “inadequate” other factions,” he added. The ruling coali- Human Rights regarding the Gongadze impeccably organized statesman, though (Kommersant, June 7). The cause for this tion of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the case. The committee noted that the court perhaps not yet that of a leader. He has sharp characterization was firm insis- Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense bloc, handed down a verdict of guilty on March made few deviations from the line drawn tence, championed personally by Mr. had 227 votes out of 450 in the Verkhovna 15 in the case of the former policemen by his senior co-ruler, Vladimir Putin, Yushchenko, on the withdrawal of Rada. However, two national deputies left charged with murder of journalist Heorhii and some of his own ideas, like the initia- Russia’s Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol have the coalition. In accordance with the Gongadze in September 2000. At the same time, the CE Committee of Ministers tive on signing an all-European pact on by 2017. Constitution of Ukraine, however, the expressed regret that the investigation of non-use of force, are astonishingly irrele- Mr. Medvedev, who is fond of present- coalition is void only when any faction the crime has been ongoing for more than vant.