The Ukrainian Weekly 2014, No.16
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www.ukrweekly.com THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXII No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2014 $1/$2 in Ukraine Shevchenko bicentennial marked at U.N. Putin reveals plans for conquest, against backdrop of Russian aggression as his saboteurs invade Ukraine by Zenon Zawada Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Deshchytsia, U.S. Secretary of State John KYIV – Russian Federation President Kerry and EU High Representative for Vladimir Putin all but declared war on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Ukraine this week as the Ukrainian govern- Catherine Ashton. ment and media offered ample evidence As The Weekly was going to press, the that he dispatched armed saboteurs to the complete results of the negotiations had yet Ukrainian mainland starting on April 12. to be revealed. [Preliminary information They worked with pro-Russian Ukrainian released in Geneva indicated that some sort separatists in invading state buildings and of agreement to defuse tensions had been military bases in eastern Ukraine. As of reached and that it involved granting amnes- April 17, 20 government buildings in the ty to members of armed groups who agreed Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv oblasts were to leave the public buildings they had seized, under their control. Mr. Putin denied the as well as disarming “all illegal armed presence of his forces in Ukraine, just as he groups.”] The main Russian demand is fed- had with Crimea a month earlier. eralization of Ukraine, which is unequivo- Yet that didn’t stop him from revealing cally opposed by the interim Ukrainian gov- his plans for Ukraine during an April 17 live ernment that is backed by the West. television broadcast. He indicated that, at a Should the West reject the federalism minimum, he intends to separate the eight proposals, Russia will take the route of cre- Lev Khmelkovsky oblasts of southeastern Ukraine, a region ating several republics out of the southeast- The Prometheus Chorus performs during the Taras Shevchenko program at the that he dubbed “Novorossiya.” But he also ern oblasts, said Vadym Karasiov, a veteran United Nations on March 27. hinted at Ukraine’s annexation entirely. political observer. They won’t be recog- bicentennial commemoration, the U.N. “If you look at the words of the leaders of nized by the global community, he said, just by Irene Jarosewich the White movement, understand that as Abkhazia, which Russia carved out of Special to The Ukrainian Weekly General Assembly passed a resolution con- demning Russia’s actions against Ukraine, regardless of their conflict with the Georgia, hasn’t been recognized. UNITED NATIONS – Taras Shevchenko’s including the invasion of Ukraine’s sover- Bolsheviks, they never even allowed the idea “Dispatching the army is the last resort,” profound talent once again proved ever- eign territory in Crimea, and a dubious ref- of a possible divide between Ukraine and he said. “That would mean a certain break lasting and universal as the bicentennial of erendum uniting the peninsula with Russia. Russia,” he said during a “direct line” broad- from the West. Russia would risk ending up his birth was celebrated at the United When planning for the bicentennial first cast, in which average citizens posed ques- in complete economic and geopolitical iso- Nations on March 27. The 500-seat began, the occasion of International Mother tions to him. lation. Russia can’t go for that now, which is ECOSOC Chamber was filled with guests as Language Day, celebrated annually at the “They always believed that it’s a part of a why it’s testing Ukraine at the moment for U.N. officials and ambassadors, NGO repre- United Nations on February 21, was seen as single space, that it’s a single people. They better options for itself.” sentatives, members of the Ukrainian com- an appropriate event with which to unite the were absolutely correct. But it just so hap- The testing of Ukraine reached a new munity and friends of Ukraine gathered at celebration of the poet’s birth. The event, pened that we live in different states today. level on April 12 when masked, armed men U.N. headquarters in New York City. titled “Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861): And the policy continues of straining and in green fatigues appeared in the Donetsk Speaking at the event, Orysia Sushko, Champion of the Ukrainian Language, Self- weakening one and the other component of Oblast city of Sloviansk, wearing no badges president of the World Federation of Determination of Peoples, Human Rights a common people.” identifying their affiliation. Ukrainian Women’s Organizations and Social Justice,” was scheduled originally Mr. Putin shared his vision just as The Internal Affairs Ministry launched an anti-terrorist operation the next morning, (WFUWO), noted, “The celebration of for February 27; however, the horrific blood- Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Shevchenko’s bicentennial takes on an shed on Maidan in Kyiv on February 18-20 Lavrov was in Geneva to resolve the politi- especially poignant significance today in required a postponement. cal crisis in negotiations involving acting (Continued on page 3) the face of renewed aggression on Master of ceremonies Peter Fedynsky Ukraine’s young independence and territo- led the full program, introducing the per- rial sovereignty. We of Ukrainian heritage son and the significance of Shevchenko to very much need, in this time of crisis, to the audience. A journalist who retired as Fear, anger in Kyiv over come together with our true neighbors and Moscow bureau chief for Voice of America, friends as we have today. And we need to Mr. Fedynsky has translated Shevchenko’s share with you our devotion to the vision of iconic work, the “Kobzar,” from Ukrainian inaction in eastern Ukraine Taras Shevchenko, whose life was so deeply into English. Mr. Fedynsky noted that the ties taking a position on the events in the rooted in love of homeland, respect for by Tom Balmforth reality depicted in much of Shevchenko’s east of Ukraine,” said Valentin Yermolenko, mother tongue, and advocacy for human RFE/RL poetry is relevant today. Understanding 54, from Kyiv. “What happened in Crimea is dignity. We want to put a spotlight on Shevchenko, he said, “is a bit of a Catch 22 – KYIV – Tires burning. Hundreds calling happening again in the east. We witnessed Shevchenko as we understand and experi- to know Shevchenko, one must know for the president’s resignation. Fears of our country lose part of its territory. I am ence him – as an early champion of the core Ukraine – to know Ukraine, one must know activists storming the Parliament. upset and I feel it is unjust. We could end values that are at the very center of the Shevchenko.” Sound familiar? That was a scene from up with nothing.” United Nations Charter.” Shevchenko brought the world to his Kyiv this past week. It wasn’t the famous Maidan of old, the The bard, no doubt, would have been Frustrated over what they see as the one that drove Viktor Yanukovych out of deeply distressed but not shocked by the readers, said Mr. Fedynsky, “he was a mini- United Nations,”and the day’s gathering at Ukrainian authorities’ slow and weak the presidency – and ultimately out of the turn of events in Ukraine as a modern response to pro-Russia militants’ seizure of country. But it captured the mood of many Russia, in the mold of the 19th century the U.N. was an appropriate manner in which to honor the poet. government buildings in the country’s east, in the capital. Russian Empire he knew well, continues a hundreds of indignant protesters gathered Representing Ambassador John W. Ashe, Appearing stone-faced on national tele- relentless effort to break Ukrainian inde- on Kyiv’s Independence Square on April 14. president of the 68th General Assembly, vision on April 13, acting President pendence and resolve. Also on March 27, They were angry. But they were also only hours before the beginning of the (Continued on page 4) frightened. “People don’t see the authori- (Continued on page 11) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2014 No. 16 ANALYSIS NATO announces further measures guarantee will complement the financing Russia builds leverage ahead that Ukraine is expected to obtain from the BRUSSELS – Speaking on April 16, fol- International Monetary Fund (IMF), other lowing the meeting of the North Atlantic international financial institutions, the of Ukraine’s presidential election Council, NATO Secretary General Anders European Union, and other donors as part Fogh Rasmussen announced new measures troops into Ukraine if a people’s council, of a larger economic reform and restructur- by Vladimir Socor in response to the crisis in Ukraine. “NATO such as that in Donetsk, asked it” (RIA ing plan. The $1 billion loan guarantee that Eurasia Daily Monitor fully supports the Geneva talks and all the Novosti, April 7). Such statements are USAID will implement will help the govern- efforts of the international community to Moscow seems to be preparing the designed in part to encourage secessionist ment of Ukraine access capital at reason- find a political solution, which fulfils the atmosphere for a possible military inter- tendencies in Ukraine’s east while preserv- able rates and manage the transition to a democratic aspirations of the entire prosperous democracy. This agreement is vention in Ukraine’s eastern regions. ing plausible deniability for Russia’s gov- Ukrainian people and respects the sover- Russia could, if it deemed expedient, inter- ernment. part of a package of assistance approved by eignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the U.S. Congress and President Obama vene there with troops in some form or Russia’s state television channels have he said.