The Ukrainian Weekly 1984
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association! ЯЄМГ-С JH"-– .. СЛХО -.-xxs^s ХОЯ' -t 50 OfO o–о о z о rainian Weekly Ог Vol. LI No. 3 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 15,1984 25 cents Rights groups score Reagan Huge gas explosion reported tor human-rights policy near Ternopil, western Ukraine WASHINGTON - A 106-page re successes have been rare." The. pro JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A huge gas mid-December at a compressor station view of U.S. human-rights policies minence of officials' "defendinghuman– explosion outside Ternopil on the night in Siberia, but denied Western reports compiled by three groups and released rights abuses" outweighed the impact of December 14 sent up a wall of flame from Paris that there had been an this week strongly criticized the Reagan of any advances and "damaged the so intense that it could be seen from explosion. administration's human-rights policy asa human-rights cause," the report said.. villages as far away as 60 kilometers, Gas Industry Minister Vasily Dinkov was quoted in TASS as saying: "A fire "litany of failure," reported The New The report was critical of what it said according to sources in Ukraine. 5 had really happened recently at the York Times. was President Reagan's suggestion that The unconfirmed reports said that compressor station under construction In the report, the groups — Americas the death squad murders in El Salva eyewitnesses had stated that firemen in Urengoi and that some equipment Watch, Helsinki Watch and the Law dor may actually be the work of the left could get no closer than a kilometer had been damaged." yers Committee for International Hu seeking to discredit the regime. It also from the inferno because of the inten man Rights — also accused Elliott cited Vice President George Bush for sity of the blaze. Others in outlying A Western businessman reported Abrams, the assistant secretary of state praising the '"openness" and "indepen villages said that the wall of fire was so that a fire broke out December 15 in a for human rights, of acting as an "apo dence" of Rumania, and Secretary of huge that a silhouette of Ternopil could building housing control panels and logist" for many countries that commit State George Shultz for lauding South be seen from miles away. The city is other equipment for the first pumping rights abuses. ' Korea's "progress in human rights." some 80 miles southeast of Lviv in station on the 3,000-mile pipeline. He The groups also asserted that the Such remarks, the report said, only western Ukraine. said the fire was quickly extinguished administration's policies were guided damage the administration's credibility ---The sources did not speculate as to and no one was believed injured, but the generally by political rather than hu on human-rights issues. the cause of the explosion. It was also blaze will delay completion of the manitarian concerns. not clear whether the accident and fire station for six months. "U.S. rights policy has never had less The report also said that the Reagan occurred along a natural gas pipeline credibility than it does right now," said administration "defied the intent" of route, although the size of the fire TASS did confirm that the pipeline is only in partial operation. Western Jeri Laber, executive director of Hel U.S. rights law, particularly those suggests it took place at some type of requiring periodic -reviews' of" human Industrial or gas storage facility. sources have reported that the Soviets sinki Watch, a five-year-old organiza have only finished two of the 41 com tion that monitors compliance with the rights in nations receiving United States The news of the fire, which could not aid money, and five principal human- be independently confirmed, came on pressor stations needed to operate it at 1975 East-West agreement on security full capacity. and human rights in Europe. "It's rights accords that have been signed but the heels of published reports that an incredibly disheartening and disturb not ratified by the United States since explosion and fire did take place at a It is known that II compressor ing." 1948. compressor station on the Urengoi– stations are scheduled to bo built in In Washington, the State Depart Those agreements include the Con Uzhhorod natural gas pipeline, which is Ukraine, but none near Ternopil. ment said on January 10 that it "cate vention on the Prevention and Punish scheduled to carry gas from Siberia to Sources here said they expect more gorically rejects the criticisms" con ment of the Crime of Genocide, which Western Europe. information about the Ternopil explo tained in the report. "In general, this was signed by President Harry Truman The Soviet news agency TASS has sion to filter out of Ukraine over the administration, the department and its in 1948; the International Convention acknowledged that a fire did occur in next several months. bureau of human rights and humanita on the Elimination of all Forms of rian affairs and Assistant Secretary of Racial Discrimination, signed by Presi State Elliott Abrams personally have dent Lyndon Johnson in 1966; the pursued a vigorous human-rights policy American Convention on Human Congress committee on Baltics, Ukraine grows and placed human rights very much at Rights, signed by President Jimmy WASHINGTON - The Ad-Hoc dates. " the center of our endeavors," Paula Carter in 1977 and the International Committee on the Baltic States and A list of the members of the Ad Hoc Kuzmich, a department spokesman, Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Ukraine has topped the 100-member Committee on the Baltic States and said. and the International Covenant on mark with the recent addition of two Ukraine follows. Although the report said the ad Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, new members. Reps. Dan Burton (R– Arkansas: John Hammerschmidt. ministration occasionally had advanced both of which were signed by President Ind.) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), California: David Dreir, Mervin human rights, it' asserted that "such Carter-ітк 1977. reported the Ukrainian National Infor Dymally, Bobbi Fiedler, Robert Lago– mation Service. marsino, Mel Levine, Bill Lowery, The committee, chaired by Reps. Carlos Moorhead. Shcharansky reported emaciated, ill Don Ritter(R-Pa.)and Brian Donnelly Connecticut: Sam Gejdenson, Nancy (D-Mass.), is a bipartisan caucus which Johnson, Barbara Kennelly, Bruce MOSCOW - the mother of impri lips were withered, so it looked as if he focuses attention on issues of concern to Morrison. soned Soviet dissident Anatoly Shcharan were wearing dentures, his eyes were American citizens of Ukrainian, Esto Delaware: Thomas Carper. sky said on January 11 that on a recent sunken and deeply ringed with black. nian, Latvian and Lithuanian heritage, Florida: Claude Pepper, C.W. Bill visit she found him emaciated and in For the entire two hours I couldn't talk; particularly the plight of Ukrainians Young. pain from an ailing heart, reported The 1 just looked." . and Baits in the Soviet Union. It was Illinois: Frank Annunzio, Tom Cor New York Times. Mr. Shcharansky, an activist in the formed in 1981. coran, Daniel Crane, Philip Crane, The woman, Ida P. Milgrom, report human-rights movement and a member "We are extremely pleased with the Richard Durbin, Henry Hyde, William ed on his condition after returning from of the Moscpw Helsinki Group, was growing numbers on the committee. Lipinski. George O'Brien, John Porter, Chistopol in the Tatar Republic where arrested in 19?7 and sentenced in July This has been onejpf our goals for the Marty Russo, Paul Simon. she was on one of two visits a year 1978 to three years in prison to be first session of the 97th Congress, and we Indiana: Dan Burton, Katie Hall. permitted under prison regulations. She followed by 10 years in a,labor camp on are gratified for the continued biparti Maryland: Barbara Mikulski. and her other son, Leonid, spent two charges of being a spy for the U.S. san support for Baltic and Ukrainian Massachusetts; Silvio Conte, Brian hours with Anatoly on January 5 in a Central Intelligence Agency. After issues in Congress,"said Rep. Donnelly, Donnelly, Joseph Early. Barney Frank, visiting room divided by a glass parti completing his first three years in one of the committee founders. Edward Markcy, Nicholas Mavroules. tion. prison, he was sent back for another Joe Moakley, James Shannon, Gerry three for maintaining his innocence. Among its many activities, the com "As soon as 1 saw him I felt dis mittee has supported resolutions on Studds. traught." said that 75-year-old woman. In 1982, he staged a 110-day hunger behalf of dissidents, and issues like the Michigan: William Broomfield, John "When I last saw him in July, after his strike, during which time he was fed by Ukrainian famine and separate designa Conycrs, George Crockett, John Din hunger strike; at least I recognized that force. The fast was to protest the tions for the Baltic countries on Defense gell, Dennis HerteL Sander Levin. it was my son, that it was Tolya. Now. interception of his mail. He resumed and State Department maps; sponsored Mark Siljander, Howard Wolpe. six months later, he was totally unre eating a year ago when his correspon– briefings on human rights; and hosted New Jersey: James Courter. Bernai J cognizable, his cheeks were sunken, his (Continued on page 4) receptions to commemorate important (Continued on ptft І) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 1984 No. 3 Political prisoners A glimpse of Soviet reality said to be ailing The Central Committee and making Soviet ideology relevant LONDON " Vasily Barats.'37.