The Ukrainian Weekly, 2016
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INSIDE: l UCU’s new library: The Sheptytsky Center – page 9 l Gala raises funds for rehabilitation center – page 11 l Community: Chicago, metro New York, Boston – pages 14-15 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXIV No. 31 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2016 $2.00 Controversial UOC-MP procession Colleagues in Ukraine bid farewell enters Kyiv under tight security to acclaimed journalist Pavel Sheremet RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service Ukraine’s Orthodox Christian majority is split among three major churches: the KYIV – Thousands of Orthodox believers Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow who participated in a controversial reli- Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox gious procession organized by the Church – Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Patriarchate (UOC-MP) gathered in Kyiv on Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov July 27 to mark the 1,028th anniversary of on July 26 said the procession would not be Kyivan Rus’s acceptance of Christianity. allowed to march into Kyiv because of secu- Some Ukrainian officials and activists rity concerns after two grenades and sever- have said the marches are a Moscow- al fake mines were found on the marchers’ orchestrated plot to incite unrest and assert route in the western outskirts of the city. that the rights of ethnic Russians, Russian- “The fake mines and real grenades dis- speakers and members of the Moscow- covered this morning made it clear for us based church are restricted in Ukraine. that the threats and provocations are real,” Nearly 9,000 people gathered on St. Mr. Avakov said on his Facebook page. “The Volodymyr Hill after marching for weeks safety of citizens is more important than from across the country to the capital. religious rituals,” he said. The event was held under tight security, Authorities said the participants would be ferried from the Sviatoshynsky district following threats of violence from groups Vladimir Gontar/UNIAN who see the procession as a provocation by on the capital’s outskirts to their destina- tion on buses. At the public farewell to murdered journalist Pavel Sheremet held at the Ukrainian Moscow. House in Kyiv on July 22. More than 1,000 people, divided into On July 25, some 150 Ukrainian nation- alists and veterans of the war in the east two columns, have been marching since the by Mark Raczkiewycz National Deputy Mustafa Nayyem who beginning of the month toward Kyiv from temporarily blocked the column of march- knew the deceased and had reported for ers coming from the east outside Boryspil, the country’s west and east in processions KYIV – The method that assassins used Ukrayinska Pravda where the award-win- some 35 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, call- led by the UOC-MP, an affiliate of the to kill acclaimed journalist Pavel Sheremet ning murdered journalist worked. “One can ing them “agents of Moscow.” Russian Orthodox Church. on July 20 was at once unsettling and kill many ways – quietly, insidiously with- Christopher Miller of RFE/RL reported The event was promoted by Patriarch meant to intimidate journalists in Ukraine, out… drawing attention to the process.” that Verkhovna Rada Chair Andriy Parubiy Kirill, the Moscow-based head of the his friends and colleagues said. The Subaru XV that Mr. Sheremet was accused Russia’s Federal Security Service, Russian Orthodox Church, as a day of A car bomb that remotely detonated driving – belonging to his partner and the FSB, of planning to use the marches to Orthodox religious unity. underneath the driver’s seat in which the Ukrayinska Pravda manager Olena Prytula destabilize Ukraine by fomenting unrest in 44-year-old Minsk-born journalist and – exploded at a central Kyiv intersection, Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, however, the streets of Kyiv and creating “an artificial radio host was sitting became the nation’s Mr. Nayyem said, “with such theatricality, … Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox political crisis.” most high-profile murder of a reporter without a shot being fired… so that no one Church – Kyiv Patriarchate said the proces- “Together with peaceful believers, [the since Heorhii Gongadze was slain in 2000. would doubt that it’s not just a murder, but sion aims “to use a church guise to incite FSB] are bringing provocateurs with pro- unrest, to destabilize Ukrainian society, and “Pavel Sheremet wasn’t simply an a political assassination.” to set one Church against another.” (Continued on page 8) ordered hit. He was a sacred sacrifice,” said Katya Gorchinskaya, CEO of independent Hromadske.tv and friend of the deceased, said Mr. Sheremet’s murder was part of a bigger “pattern that over the past year or Ukrainian Canadians celebrate 125th anniversary of immigration more has unfolded against journalists.” In particular, she was referring to her Pier 21, welcomed the guests and provid- colleague, Mykhailo Trach, who was “Journey to Canada” exhibit unveiled ed a historical context to the proceedings. attacked by officers of the Security Service Canada’s Minister of Employment, of Ukraine (SBU) in October 2015 – an act at Canadian Museum of Immigration Workforce Development and Labor that has gone unpunished. MaryAnn Mihychuk brought greetings on Writing on Facebook on July 20, she UCC generously provided by the Kule Folklore behalf of the government of Canada and said: “The inaction, tacit and open support Center at the University of Alberta – will Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. of those in power leads to an escalation of HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – The Ukrainian be displayed through October 30 at the “In 1891 what are thought to be the all sorts of attacks on journalists. Pasha’s Canadian Congress (UCC), in cooperation Canadian Museum of Immigration. first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada, [Mr. Trach’s nickname] murder wasn’t ran- with the Canadian Museum of The Ukrainian Canadian community Ivan Pylypiw and Wasyl Eleniak, arrived dom. It killed the belief that we have free- Immigration at Pier 21, the Kule Folklore also unveiled a plaque as a tribute to the on our shores. They and the hundreds of dom of speech. The dark times are here.” Center and the UCC Halifax-Dartmouth five waves of Ukrainian immigrants who thousands of others who were to follow However, Nataliya Lihachova, director of Branch celebrated the 125th anniversary came to Canada over the past 125 years. found success in a new land, thanks to the media watchdog Media Detector, of Ukrainian immigration to Canada in The plaque notes: “They helped build our their hard work, love of family and careful doesn’t think that the Sheremet murder Halifax on July 21. great nation and championed Canadian stewardship of the land,” stated Minister will lead to self-censorship. She said it will The celebrations featured the launch of values like multiculturalism.” Mihychuk. “These pioneers and their have the opposite effect. the exhibit “Journey to Canada: Ukrainian The celebration at Pier 21 was attend- descendants – numbering some 1.3 mil- “As a rule, such bold assassinations and Immigration Experiences 1891-1900” ed by some 100 guests. UCC interim lion today – have left a profound mark on murders whose purpose is to obstruct pro- depicting the journey that the first Executive Director Olya Grod was master Canada and have contributed to our fessional activities are carried out against Ukrainian settlers in Canada made and of ceremonies. Marie Chapman, CEO of those journalists who foremost aren’t their pioneer experiences. The exhibit – the Canadian Museum of Immigration at (Continued on page 15) (Continued on page 8) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2016 No. 31 ANALYSIS Ukraine’s resilience strengthens, U.S. equipment arrives in Ukraine ing the war. Freed in May as part of a prison- er swap, she returned to a hero’s welcome, KYIV – Twenty-four RQ-11B Raven and has spoken out regularly, calling for though regional cohesion risks remain Unmanned Aircraft Systems (comprising direct peace talks with Russia-backed sepa- 72 aircraft and associated equipment) ratists in the east. More than 9,400 people by Maksym Bugriy associate a civic understanding of a nation arrived at Boryspil International Airport on with cultural attributes of citizens, such as have been killed in the fighting, according to Eurasia Daily Monitor July 27. They were provided by the U.S. gov- United Nations figures. (RFE/RL) the Ukrainian language, history, culture and ernment. The Raven Unmanned Aircraft President Vladimir Putin and other customs; and this dynamic has increased System is a hand-launched reconnaissance Vitvitsky to assist in reform of PGO Russian officials frequently refer to compared to 2005. Regarding the and surveillance tool. The system transmits Ukraine’s weak social cohesion, thereby Ukrainian language, 56 percent believe it live airborne video images and location KYIV – A former federal prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney, Bohdan Vitvitsky, justifying the notion that Russia is interven- should be the only official language, while information to a ground control station. will assist in the reform of the Prosecutor ing in this allegedly ungovernable weak 24 percent think that Ukrainian should be This capability can provide day or night General’s Office (PGO) of Ukraine, accord- state to protect its clientele groups there. the state language and Russian an official aerial intelligence and enables operators to ing to the PGO’s media liaison office. “The During this year’s St. Petersburg Economic language in certain regions – as is, in fact, navigate, recognize terrain and record Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine and Forum (June 16-18), Mr. Putin indirectly currently the law. Only 14 percent support information for analysis. The Raven system former U.S. Federal Prosecutor and accused the North Atlantic Treaty Russian and Ukrainian languages both hav- is part of the European Reassurance Assistant Attorney Bohdan Vitvitsky have Organization (NATO) of acting to “scare the ing equal official status.