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Theh Published U by thekrainian Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationeekly Vol. LXXX No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 $1/$2 in Ukraine ANALYSIS: Freedom House delegation visits Ukraine Like fathers, WASHINGTON – A delegation from Freedom House, the David J. Kramer, president of Freedom House. “At the same internationally known human rights watchdog based in time, we are very concerned by the selective prosecution of Washington, returned to Ukraine in early April to assess key opposition figures, the ‘family-ization’ of corruption, like sons the state of democracy and human rights in the country. and stress the importance of free and fair elections in The delegation, which 14 months ago had published an October 2012 for Ukraine’s democratic development.” by Mykola Riabchuk assessment entitled “Sounding the Alarm: Protecting The team welcomed the government’s willingness to Recently, 18-year-old Oksana Makar was beaten Democracy in Ukraine,” will issue a new report in June facilitate the visits with Mr. Lutsenko and Ms. Tymoshenko and raped by three drunken youngsters in the south- with recommendations. but expressed its concern about the lack of consistent ern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. To hide the crime, the According to an April 4 news release, as part of the visit, medical attention for Ms. Tymoshenko and criminalization miscreants tied her up and set her on fire. Oksana the delegation met with President Viktor Yanukovych. of political differences. later died in hospital from horrendous burns. Other meetings included Verkhovna Rada Chairman Led by Mr. Kramer, the delegation included both The city was shocked and hundreds of people took Volodymyr Lytvyn and other national deputies, Procurator Americans and Ukrainians: Robert Nurick, a senior fellow to the streets to protest after a rumor spread that the General Viktor Pshonka, Minister of Justice Oleksander at the Atlantic Council; Victoria Sjumar, director of the culprits had been released, placed under house arrest Lavrynovych, Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) Deputy Institute for Mass Information; Olexander Sushko, research and were likely to avoid punishment, which typically Director Petro Shatkovsky, as well as civil society and director of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and happens in Ukraine when the children of big bosses media representatives and members of the opposition. chair of the board of the International Renaissance and wealthy businessmen are involved in crimes. The delegation also met with two imprisoned opposition Foundation; and Damon Wilson, executive vice-president The rumors proved unfounded, but people have leaders, former Minister of Internal Affairs Yurii Lutsenko at the Atlantic Council. Matthew Schaaf, program officer at become so accustomed to daily lawlessness and the and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Those meet- Freedom House, was also part of the group. rampant impunity of the strong and wealthy that they ings occurred in the Lukianivska and Kachanivska prisons, Ukraine is ranked partly free in “Freedom in the World tend, naturally, to overreact. respectively. The visit to Ms. Tymoshenko was the first by 2012,” Freedom House’s survey of political rights and civil A few years ago, Dmytro Rud, the 25-year-old son an independent international delegation since her transfer liberties, and partly free in “Freedom of the Press 2011.” of the Dnipropetrovsk prosecutor, ran down three to prison in December 30, 2011. Freedom House is an independent watchdog organiza- women at a marked road crossing and disappeared “We recognize that there has been progress in some tion that supports democratic change, monitors the status after being placed under house arrest. Serhii areas, including legislation on NGOs, the criminal procedure of freedom around the world, and advocates for democra- Kalynovsky, the 23-year-old son of a rich oil trader, code, open government and access to information,” said cy and human rights. crashed at high speed into a parked car containing two passengers, killed both, and eventually escaped from the hospital and took a chartered plane to Israel. Oleksander Shpyrko, the son of a colonel of the California Association to Aid Ukraine National Security Service in Odesa, heavily drunk, plowed into a boat on his scooter, killing one person and injuring three. Again, as the typical story goes, he celebrates its 20th anniversary was released on probation and, after due pressure on victims, witnesses, investigators and judges, received a four-year suspended sentence, later repealed by an amnesty (http://tsn.ua/ukrayina/mazhorni-vitivki- yak-diti-vplivovih-batkiv-unikayut-pravosuddya.html). By late 2010, as such tendencies became all too obvious, I began to collect the stories of violent crimes committed by Ukrainian VIPs and, especially, their offspring. The list is certainly not exhaustive since I picked up the stories occasionally, inter alia, while searching materials for different projects and screening only a handful of sources. Yet, having gath- ered about a hundred stories of this kind in less than a year, I found it tempting to classify them and to denote some distinct features and tendencies. First of all, the lion’s share of violent incidents in which VIPs and their progenies are involved pertains to speeding (usually in a state of drunkenness) or to some restaurant and post-restaurant brawls (again most frequently with the perpetrators in an inebriat- ed condition). Predictably, young people are much more prominent in this activity, partly because of the age and respective hormones, and partly because Don Hagopian Photography their progenitors use (as a rule) personal drivers and Kateryna Yushchenko (seated, first row center), Ukraine 3000 representatives, international health care fellows, bodyguards, in order to preclude such problems. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center faculty and members of the California Association to Aid Ukraine board of directors and committees. So, when a minor oligarch and national deputy from Luhansk, Volodymyr Landyk, happened to be by Anne Kokawa Prokopovych ence at the 20th anniversary celebration of the California stopped by a traffic policeman because his car was Association to Aid Ukraine (CAAU). traveling at double the speed limit, he had no need to LOS ANGELES – “Thank you for being there for Ukraine The former first lady of Ukraine, who delivered the key- contest the charge. It sufficed to order his bodyguard: in her first 20 years – for coming immediately upon her note address, also offered reflections on the progress and “Go and sort him out!” – the Russian form is much rebirth, for helping her to grow.” the challenges of the young nation of Ukraine, as well as cruder – (http://gazeta.ua/articles/374929), and the Those were the words of Kateryna Yushchenko, head of the Ukraine 3000 programs. (Continued on page 2) the Supervisory Council of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation, as she warmly greeted the audi- (Continued on page 3) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

ANALYSIS Like fathers, like sons Foreign voters deprived of rights majority nominees in the city of Kyiv. (Continued from page 1) Parliamentary elections in Ukraine will be KYIV – The Constitutional Court has held in October. (Ukrinform) issue was settled. The policeman ended up f…! I’m having a good time, as I like it. It’s up deprived Ukrainians living abroad of equal in a hospital with concussion and bruises to to me, f…, either to smell coke, or inject, or voting rights, as compared to voters who Lazarenko owes $2M in back taxes his chest, whereas Mr. Landyk swore sol- drink, or drive, or f…, or shoot. I’m Vladimr will vote in Ukraine, the chairman of the emnly that nothing illegal had occurred: Kryvko! Any questions?” (http://gazeta.ua/ Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU), SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Former Ukrainian “The injuries he has got, well, he had proba- articles/425850). Oleksander Chernenko, told the press on Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko may find bly inflicted them upon himself, no one beat Last year, a big scandal occurred in April 5, commenting on the Constitutional an inquiry from Marin County tax collector him!” Luhansk when Roman Landyk, a deputy of Court’s ruling to ban Ukrainians abroad Roy Given waiting when he is released This spectacular chutzpah seems to be the City Council and, yes, the son of the from the federal prison at Terminal Island from voting for nominees from majority the Party of Regions’ trademark. Back in same Volodymyr Landyk whose bodyguard on November 1, reported a local newspa- constituencies in Kyiv. “We have faced a 2010, after the bloody melee in the knocked out the traffic policeman, brutally per, the Marin Independent Journal. Mr. breach of the Constitution, because it guar- Parliament, when oppositionists blocked attacked a young woman in a night club Lazarenko, who has been in prison for the antees that everyone has equal voting the podium protesting procedural viola- because she refused his gentle offer to have past six years following his conviction for rights. Here this equation is violated, tions and Mr. Landyk’s colleagues broke a good time with him at some other place money laundering, transporting stolen because the citizens of Ukraine on the terri- their noses in response, Mykhailo (http://www.unian.net/ukr/news/news- goods and fraud, owes Marin County $2.1 tory of the state vote both for political par- Chechetov, the informal “director” of the 444915.html). The story would have prob- million in back taxes and late payment ties and candidates from majority constitu- party’s parliamentary faction, brashly ably have had no consequences for the fines levied against the palatial, 11-acre encies. The same citizen who is abroad will explained the incident to the journalists: young Landyk, just as the earlier incident Novato mansion at 100 Obertz Lane he only vote for party lists, so we cannot speak “There was no assault. Maybe they [hospi- had had no impact on his father. But, unfor- once called home. If he doesn’t pay his tax about equal voting rights in this system,” talized oppositionists] beat their heads tunately for him, it was recorded on camera bill by April 10, he faces a 10 percent penal- Mr. Chernenko emphasized. He added that [against a wall] themselves and now decid- and placed on the Internet. The authorities ty. Mr. Given said that Dugsbery Inc. of after the Parliament, taking into account ed to blame it on us.” (http://glavred.info/ had to react, so they brought the playboy to Sausalito, the entity through which Mr. the decision of the court, adopts the appro- archive/2010/12/17/170622-9.html). court and sentenced him to three years in Lazarenko bought the mansion, is Marin prison – suspended, despite the fact he had priate changes to the law on parliamentary In any case, whenever senior VIPs or County’s biggest tax scofflaw. The bill never repented. On the contrary, he con- elections, there will be another reason for their junior offspring are involved in killing includes $894,407 in back taxes and anoth- stantly and openly threatened the victim a pedestrian or beating a commoner, the appealing to the Constitutional Court er $997,824 in late payment penalties, as pattern of investigation and the subsequent and journalists with revenge, behavior that regarding the violation of equal voting in a normal country may have cost him well as $129,000 on two adjacent parcels. findings are virtually the same. The speed of rights of Ukrainian citizens abroad. At the The next step for the Novato mansion will their cars is always recognized as being more than three years in prison. same time the CVU chairman said he Today, the cheerful owner of a 230,000 be “final formal notifications, including to within the permissible limits and is never believes that the court decision has abol- the state Franchise Tax Board and the IRS, found to be 150-200 kilometers per hour, euro Bentley Continental needs only to wait ished an “absurd norm” in the law on the and then we’ll be forced to put the property the speed at which they usually drive. for the next pardon (likely in August, by election of national deputies. “The law stip- up for a tax sale,” probably in late August, Alcohol is never found in their blood, even Independence Day) and then try to fulfill all ulated that foreign votes are distributed he said. Disposition of the property will be though witnesses often attest that they are his promises and concealed desires, perhaps among the constituencies of Kyiv. However, delayed if the federal or state governments barely able to speak or even stand. All of with better luck, i.e., no cameras around. the law says nothing about which constitu- makes a claim. The 19,495-square-foot, them are placed on probation, even though This assumption may sound somewhat encies the overseas voters should be grotesque, but all those who know the nine-bedroom, nine-bath residence has many fled from the accident scene rather attached to. This would create problems story of Dmytro Kravets, the son of a mem- two helicopter landing pads, five dog ken- than help the victim. In every case, the vic- during the voting. Besides, the majority ber of the Odesa Oblast Council (one can nels, a ballroom, granite floors inlaid with tims’ relatives and victims themselves (if nominees would have additional incentives alive) are intimidated or bribed or both, to guess from which party), would certainly brass, and gold-plated door knobs. The recognize it as quite common. This car-lov- to manipulate voters abroad. Now the mansion was built by George Michael withdraw their claims (http://gazeta.ua/ Constitutional Court has removed the articles/403732). And, witnesses are er had killed, at high speed, a young man Shipsey, a former Marin County developer and seriously mutilated his partner. The problem,” he underscored. Mr. Chernenko convicted in 1997 of embezzling $700,000 pressed by both the defendants and investi- added that this decision will not affect the gators to reconsider their earlier testimo- prosecutor (under the Orange govern- in union pension funds. (Marin ment) demanded six years in prison for balance of political forces after the elec- Independent Journal) nies or merely to forget some details tions. “Not more than 40,000 citizens vote (http://gazeta.ua/articles/375925). him, but the government changed in the meantime, and the speedster received a abroad. This is statistically insignificant PGO hopes to question Lazarenko Another habitual feature of all these sto- compared to 30 million voters who cast ries is their almost exclusive localization in pardon. What makes the story even more KYIV – The Procurator General’s Office their ballots in Ukraine,” he said. On April 5 southeastern Ukraine – the area firmly con- poignant is that Mr. Kravets Jr. had already (PGO) hopes to interrogate former Prime Ukraine’s Constitutional Court struck down trolled by the Party of Regions, alongside been pardoned twice after receiving minor Minister Pavlo Lazarenko in Ukraine this the provision in the Law on Elections of the capital city of Kyiv, where an enormous sentences for stealing 16 (!) cars, just for National Deputies of Ukraine, according to number of national VIPs is ominously con- fun (http://tsn.ua/ukrayina/ mazhorni- which voters living outside of Ukraine elect centrated. It is no accident that all the vitivki-yak-diti-vplivovih-batkiv-unikayut- October,(Continued Procurаtor on page General 12) Viktor heroes of these stories are either members pravosuddya.html). of the Party of Regions or their close politi- One should not be surprised, however, by cal-cum-business associates. The only story the leniency of Ukrainian judges, if they in my collection that occurred in the west- belong to the same caste as their VIP clients he krainian eekly FOUNDED 1933 ern part of the country refers to a young (and patrons). They cooperate in a mutually T U W beneficial enterprise of state capture and man and his cronies at Kalush, Ivano- looting. And in most cases, they expose the An English-language newspaper published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., Frankivsk region, who tried to solve a road same love for la dolce vita and disrespect a non-profit association, at 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054. incident with the help of gas and traumatic for the law. Yearly subscription rate: $65; for UNA members — $55. [rubber bullet] pistols. Remarkably, the My favorite story of this kind is that of Periodicals postage paid at Caldwell, NJ 07006 and additional mailing offices. main culprit, yet again, was the son of the Dmytro Chernushenko, a former deputy of (ISSN — 0273-9348) local Party of Regions national deputy, the Odesa City Council and, now, a consul- Volodymyr Lychuk. The Weekly: UNA: tant for the anti-corruption (!) committee in All these youngsters, like their parents, Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 644-9510 Tel: (973) 292-9800; Fax: (973) 292-0900 the Ukrainian Parliament. His drift to the are strongly convinced that might is right. capital coincided, remarkably, with his And they are very cognizant of the open Postmaster, send address changes to: father’s career jump from the position of a The Ukrainian Weekly Editor-in-chief: Roma Hadzewycz secret of who holds the real power in this judge in Odesa to the head of the Court of country and how. They have no doubt that 2200 Route 10 Editor: Matthew Dubas Appeal in Kyiv. Both events – and many P.O. Box 280 the law, or whatever this silly word may more of the sort – coincided with Viktor Parsippany, NJ 07054 e-mail: [email protected] mean in Ukraine, is on their side. Actually, it Yanukovych’s ascendancy to power. is them and their parents and friends who Last July, a young lawyer with his girl- The Ukrainian Weekly Archive: www.ukrweekly.com own it. They have captured the state like an friend who also appeared to be a member alien army, and can pillage it now as they of the legal profession, a judge of the district The Ukrainian Weekly, April 15, 2012, No. 16, Vol. LXXX wish. court in Kyiv, went to a nightclub in Odesa Copyright © 2012 The Ukrainian Weekly Police, as a rule, avoid confrontations where all visitors were required to pass the with these new landlords and their bub- metal detector gate. The pair refused and, bling offspring. (The poor fellow from reportedly tipsy, began a brawl with the Luhansk who dared to stop Mr. Landyk was club personnel. When the police arrived, the ADMINISTRATION OF THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY AND SVOBODA an exception: his singular bravery, or per- “Kyiv lawyers” badmouthed them with haps naivete, would rarely be replicated by Walter Honcharyk, administrator (973) 292-9800, ext. 3041 obscenities and promised all would be fired. e-mail: [email protected] anyone, including himself.) One can see in The journalists also got their portion of this video how reluctant they are to detain Walter Honcharyk, advertising manager (973) 292-9800, ext. 3040 slander: “I don’t give a s…t whether you’re fax: (973) 644-9510 an aggressive youngster whose heavily ine- journalists,” the young district judge put it e-mail: [email protected] briated monologue sounds like a motto for elegantly, “You will pay for this!” Mariyka Pendzola, subscriptions (973) 292-9800, ext. 3042 his entire generation: e-mail: [email protected] “I’m Vladimir Kryvko, f…! Get off my way, (Continued on page 3) No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 3

gram, and provided some examples of the California... immediate benefits that participants have been able to achieve. Dr. Tkachyuk is for- (Continued from page 1) mer medical and legal advisor for Ukraine A eulogy for John Demjanjuk The anniversary reception was held at 3000, and was instrumental in the initia- the Hilton Hotel in Glendale, Calif., on tion and development of the fellowship by Ulrich Busch Ukrainian, an embarrassing question for Sunday, February 19. To raise awareness of program for Ukrainian medical profession- me because I was always too lazy – CAAU’s past accomplishments and poten- als conducted by Cedars-Sinai Medical The eulogy below was delivered on despite nearly 40 years of marriage – to tial for the future for the people of Ukraine, Center, in collaboration with Ukraine 3000 March 31 by Dr. Ulrich Busch, John learn this difficult language. I had always the afternoon reception began in the foyer and support from the CAAU. Demjanjuk’s attorney during his trial in followed the principle, borsch tastes of the ballroom, where posters and dis- He cited several examples of past fellows Germany, following funeral services in the delicious but is too difficult to pro- plays of CAAU projects were interspersed who had gained knowledge, experience United States. nounce. with silent auction items. Guests enjoyed and self-confidence that they were able to John Demjanjuk Jr. told The Ukrainian Nevertheless, I passed John’s lan- the opportunity for good-natured bidding apply in their work and share with their Weekly: “On Saturday, March 31, upon the guage test with an A. Namely, I could for items ranging from hand-crafted colleagues in Ukraine. “Having seen and return of his remains to the U.S.A. from readily sing and recite the prayers of the pysanky to autographed movie posters, experienced the medical technology and Germany, my father was buried with the Ukrainian Catholic liturgy since my while raising funds for a good cause. practice at Cedars-Sinai, our doctors are dignity he so very much deserved given childhood because my father loved the The program in the ballroom began with more familiar with possibilities and willing the suffering he endured from childhood Eastern Church prayers and songs. He a traditional Ukrainian greeting with bread to try alternatives that they would not have until falling asleep with the Lord. A pri- took me very often on Sundays to mass and salt of honored guests by three chil- previously considered” he remarked. vate burial followed Ukrainian Orthodox at a Ukrainian monastery near my dren, Victoria Popel, Yuriy Polyuga and In fact, Dr. Tkachyuk, a three-time fellow, Church services. Present were clergy, hometown. Maksym Wasylyn. Conductor Greg Hallick has since become a director for a private Church representatives, our family and a I said to John, I can pray in Ukrainian led the Kobzar Choir in singing “God Bless company involved with medical infrastruc- number of my father’s attorneys who had but everything else “duzhe malo” (very little). He answered, “Then let us pray America” and the “Prayer for Ukraine.” A ture development, but said he hopes “one joined him in his fight for justice over the together, ‘Our Father.’ ” I said, OK, fine. lively and colorful “Pryvit,” or Ukrainian day to return to Ukraine 3000 to continue years.” welcome dance was performed by the developing similar programs that demon- And so we prayed “Our Father” in Chervona Kalyna Dance Ensemble (Liliya strate immediate as well as long-term tan- I am not here to hold a lecture on the Ukrainian. That was the beginning of our Juga, director). Bandura soloist Luke Miller gible results.” case of John Demjanjuk, or to criticize time together. We subordinated our performed traditional Kozak melodies. The final speaker, Prof. Vasyl once again the U.S., Israel and Germany future under the protection and will of Before introducing the four guest speak- Lazoryshynets, M.D., Ph.D., outlined the cur- for the fact that they caused over 40 our common Creator. This was a won- ers, masters of ceremonies Paul Micevych rent status of the health care system in years of unspeakable suffering and injus- derful way to start the legal battle, and Marta Mykytyn-Hill summarized 20 Ukraine. Since Ukraine became independent tice for John, or to detail how Germany because we knew it would take all our years of CAAU’s accomplishments as a grass- in 1991, reforms of the Soviet-era health care misused John and about 30 Jewish peo- efforts to survive and fight against pow- roots community organization coordinating system have not kept pace with the challeng- ple from the Netherlands, who were vic- erful enemies, namely, revenge, retalia- support for people in Ukraine. CAAU initially es of lower fertility and increased incidence tims of German cruelty during the Nazi tion, blind rage, forgery, fraud, corrup- focused on channeling humanitarian relief of chronic conditions such as heart disease time, for an illegal political show trial. I tion and the perversion of justice. to address critical needs that were basic and and diabetes, as well as communicable dis- am simply here with the desire to say a By the way, after passing the first lan- immediate. Over the years, as Ukraine has eases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. As last goodbye and farewell to John. guage test, John never asked me to take evolved, CAAU’s efforts have expanded to former vice-minister of health of Ukraine During the last three years of his life, another. include projects that leverage modest invest- and Head of the Department of Pediatric while I was at his side, John Demjanjuk The legal battle began. It lasted nearly ments from the local community into lasting Cardiac Surgery of the National Academy of was the focus of my professional life as a two years and more than 90 days in a positive results for the people of Ukraine. Medical Sciences, Prof. Lazoryshynets is criminal defense lawyer in Germany. But courtroom. There was no doubt that Following Mrs. Yushchenko’s keynote striving to raise awareness of the importance that was not all. There was so much John would be convicted, as there was no address, Vira Pavliuk, M.D., Ph.D., head of of implementing comprehensive health care more. doubt that the verdict was already estab- Medical Programs for Ukraine 3000, pre- reform in Ukraine. I will never forget our first meeting in lished before the trial had even started. sented an overview of Ukraine 3000’s The afternoon reception was an oppor- the Stadelheim prison in Munich. He was The media and prosecutors made John work. The foundation’s mission to “do good tunity to celebrate a milestone for the sitting in a wheelchair, pushed by an offi- into Hitler and Stalin as one person. He, and encourage others to do so as well” is a CAAU with festive Ukrainian traditions. The cer into the visiting room of the prison, not Germany, was suddenly responsible call for individuals, businesses and other four speakers presented realistic views of dressed in a sweater with holes and for the German murders of hundreds of organizations to join together and become contemporary Ukraine, and demonstrated faded sweatpants. We greeted each other thousands of Jewish people and the involved with each other to build a better the potential for positive results with active for the first time and spoke in English. destruction of European Jewry. John was society in Ukraine. participation. In Mrs. Yushchenko’s words, John knew my wife, also a “Pani Vera” made into Nazi murderer and war beast Taras Tkachyuk, M.D., followed with a it will take community involvement in like his wife, was of Ukrainian descent. in one. brief history of the development of the Ukraine and abroad to take small steps for He asked me about my language skills in (Continued on page 4) International Healthcare Fellowship pro- the future of Ukraine.

ing off” [http://www.pravda.com.ua/ However strange the court decision, a cursing with his full vocabulary. He did not Like fathers... news/2011/10/24/6698926]). real miracle happened in December 2010, asault anyone, however, nor even sue, Perhaps the ugliest story in this collec- when a Kyiv appellate court judge ordered though he threatened to do so after the (Continued from page 2) tion of the lawlessness that reigns supreme an additional investigation into the case video was placed on YouTube. Both he and in Ukraine comes from the recent publica- and freed Mr. Demishkan with a suspended “We cannot do anything,” a police officer his older brother Oleksander are serious tion in Kyiv Post about three mobsters who, sentence. The reason for the court’s lenien- statesmen and businessmen (in Ukraine confessed to journalists, under conditions back in 2007, kidnapped a man’s business cy was very simple: Volodymyr Demishkan, of anonymity, “If we detain them, we would that’s a normal combination), with person- partner-cum-rival, tortured him for three Serhii’s father, was the head of the state al bodyguards and therefore the state have a lot of trouble. The most we can do is days and then, as the story relates, “tied an roadway service Ukravtodor and a good compile a protocol and charge them a apparatus can do the dirty jobs for them iron radiator battery to his back and tossed friend of President Yanukovych. (http://obkom.net.ua/articles/2012-03/ minor fine for petty hooliganism…. We him over a bridge into a Dnipro River canal Mr. Demishkan deserves a book to him- encounter problems like this all the time. 02.1713.shtml). with the words: “Say hello to [Jacques] self, but it requires a genre that I would Oleksander Yanukovych came to promi- Children of judges, deputies, top officials Cousteau!” rather leave for Ukrainian followers of behave here like hoodlums. They even spit nence as the alleged shadow owner of Only one of the killers, Oleksander Mario Puzo or Martin Scorsese. Suffice it to Tantalit, a murky offshore company that on the police. They can beat anybody and Kudrin, was convicted for intentional mur- say that he is co-founder (with Yurii Boyko will be released regardless” (http://zadon- lends the president the estate on which his bass.org/news/crime/message_33711). opulent residence is located, as well as a It is depressing even to read the titles of Lawlessness reigns supreme in Ukraine. helicopter and other facilities – using tax- these stories: “Policeman in Kyiv charged payers’ money, of course, and doubtless at 225 hrv [$28] for killing a mother with a der and received a seven-year prison sen- and Serhii Tulub, the incumbent and for- exorbitant prices (http://www.pravda. child at a street crossing” (http://gazeta.ua/ tence, exactly like Yulia Tymoshenko for her mer ministers of fuel and energy) of the com.ua/articles/2011/11/21/6773868). articles/375237); “Judge from Kupiansk unfortunate gas contracts with Vladimir Cedar Society of the Hunters and This is how the pyramid ends. Or, rather, [Kharkiv region] who killed two people Putin. Two other accomplices, Serhii Fishermen, patronized by the chief hunter begins. And everything one sees at the bot- with his Jeep is acquitted” (http://gazeta. Levchenko and the alleged ringleader Serhii of Ukraine, President Yanukovych. Such tom is just a reflection of what is happening ua/articles/402656); “A judge from Demishkan, were given milder sentences on patronage pays off: at the end of last year, at the top. Luhansk who killed a woman with a boy at the lesser charges of kidnapping and con- Cedar received 9,000 hectares of highly a street crossing is promoted to the High cealing a crime. valuable reserve lands in Crimea at cut- Mykola Riabchuk is an author and jour- Court” (http://blogs.pravda.com.ua/ District judge Volodymyr Yeremenko price rates (http://www.pravda.com.ua/ nalist from Ukraine, and a leading intellec- authors/svirko/4d486d5f00cab); “A young provided this remarkable revelation about news/2011/12/26/ 6868443). tual who is affiliated with the journal member of the Valky City Council [Kharkiv the possible usage of heating radiators tied To Mr. Yanukovych’s credit, neither of his Krytyka. region] kicked a 17-year-old girl” (the story to victims’ backs: “There was no intent of two sons is alleged to have beaten traffic The article above is reprinted from the is very similar to that of Mr. Landyk Jr., with premeditated murder,” he told the journal- police or uncooperative girls, or to have blog “Current Politics in Ukraine” (http:// the only difference that here the hero’s ists. “They [the culprits] wanted to take him tied radiators to the backs of their political ukraineanalysis.wordpress.com/) created by father, the head of the local council, did not [the victim] to a notary public… Perhaps rivals or business competitors. the Stasiuk Program for the Study of try to excuse his son: “He drinks too much. their actions led to accidental manslaugh- There was a minor incident with Viktor Contemporary Ukraine, a program of the We tried to cure him but in vain. He is 26 ter” (http://www.kyivpost.com/news/ Yanukovych, Jr. last year when journalists Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies at years old, all I can do is give him a good tell- nation/detail/122175). filmed him roaring drunk in the street and the University of Alberta. 4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

OBITUARIES Mykola Plawiuk, 86, Ukrainian political leader BURLINGTON, Ontario – Mykola Ukrainians (WCFU); secretary general sented for his contributions to Ukrainian Plawiuk, who served as president of the (1973-1976), first vice-president (1976- community and political affairs in the dias- Ukrainian National Republic in Exile in 1978) and president (1978-1980) of the pora. 1988-1992 and held several leading offices WCFU, today known as the Ukrainian A 2007 presidential decree issued by in the World Congress of Free Ukrainians, World Congress. Viktor Yushchenko awarded Mr. Plawiuk died in Burlington, Ontario, on March 10. He was elected leader of the Organization the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, first He was 86. of Ukrainian Nationalists in 1979. He was class, for his contributions as a “public and Mr. Plawiuk was the leader of the also a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting political leader, president of the UNR in Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Organization, in which he was a senior Exile 1988-1992, his selfless service to the chairman of the Oleh Olzhych Foundation scout leader. Ukrainian people, and distinguished per- and president of Olena Teliha Publishers – In June 1988 he was elected vice-presi- sonal achievements in the revival of all three institutions headquartered in Kyiv, dent of the Ukrainian National Republic Ukraine’s independence.” where he was active from 1992 to 2011. (UNR) in Exile, assuming the role of its Surviving are Mr. Plawiuk’s wife of 64 Mr. Plawiuk was born on June 5, 1925, in president following the death of President years, Jaroslava; his four children, Orest, Rusiv, then on Ukrainian lands occupied by Andriy Livytskyi in December of 1988. On Nestor, Ulana and Oksana; nine grandchil- Poland (today the area is part of the Ivano- August 22, 1992, at a specially convened dren and four great-grandchildren. Frankivsk Oblast of Ukraine). He met his session of the Verkhovna Rada, he formally Funeral services were held March 14-15. future wife, Jaroslava, in Germany, and the ceded his mandate, along with the state A panakhyda took place at the Ukrainian couple married in 1948. They emigrated to attributes and documents of the UNR, to National Federation in Toronto, the funeral Canada in 1949. the first president of modern-day indepen- liturgy was offered at Holy Protection of the Prior to the re-establishment of dent Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, declaring Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Ukraine’s independence in 1991, Mr. that the Ukrainian state is the lawful suc- Church in Burlington, and interment was at Plawiuk held various prominent positions cessor to the UNR. St. Volodymyr Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario. in Ukrainian community organizations. He In 1993, in accordance with a special Mykola Plawiuk Memorial donations may be made to the was president of the Ukrainian National decree issued by President Kravchuk, Mr. community and humanitarian involvement.” UNF Foundation (Paul Yuzyk Institute for Federation of Canada (1956-1966); vice- Plawiuk was named a citizen of Ukraine. In The Ukrainian World Congress honored Youth Leadership), 145 Evans Ave., president of the Ukrainian Canadian 1996 President Kuchma conferred upon Mr. Plawiuk with its St. Volodymyr the Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5X8 or to the Congress (1966-1971); initiator and chief him the State Order of Merit, third class for Great Medal, and the Ukrainian Canadian Olzhych Foundation (Ukrainian Student organizer responsible for the establish- his “personal contribution to the develop- Congress conferred upon him the Taras Scholarship Fund), 464 Symington Ave., ment in 1967 of the World Congress of Free ment of Ukrainian statehood, and his active Shevchenko Medal. Both honors were pre- Toronto, Ontario, M6N 2W5. Atena Pashko, 80, poet, wife of Vyacheslav Chornovil of the Lviv Oblast, into a patriotic She was also a member of the political Ukrainian family. Already as a 12-year- council and leadership of the National old she wrote patriotic poems that she Rukh of Ukraine, which her husband passed along to the Ukrainian Insurgent headed. Mr. Chornovil was killed in a Army (several of them were used as song vehicle accident outside of Kyiv in March lyrics) and served as a courier, carrying of 1999; the circumstances of the crash secret materials from her village to a remain unclear. neighboring one. Since 1999, Ms. Pashko had headed During the 1960s she moved to Kyiv, the Vyacheslav Chornovil International where she became involved with other Charitable Fund. She was also the honor- intellectuals in the “Shestydesiatnyky,” as ary president of the Ukrainian Women’s the Ukrainian movement of the 1960s League of Ukraine, an organization she was called. She spoke out in defense of had headed beginning in 1991. repressed Ukrainian cultural activists She was recognized for her communi- and as a result experienced the wrath of ty activity with the Order of Princess Soviet authorities, who forbid her works Olha in 1997 and the Order of Freedom to be published and conducted many in 2009. searches of her apartment. She was The Verkhovna Rada paid tribute to Ms. involved, with her husband and other Pashko with a moment of silence on March rights activists, in the publication of dis- 21; the tribute was held on the initiative of UNIAN sident materials in the underground National Deputy Yurii Kliuchkovsky of the Atena Pashko speaking at the gravesite of her husband, Vyacheslav Chornovil, on journal Ukrayinskyi Visnyk. Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense fac- March 25, 2005, on the sixth anniversary of his tragic death. Beginning in the 1980s, Ms. Pashko’s tion in Parliament. PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Atena Pashko, poet, of the dissident movement in Ukraine, poetry was published abroad. She is the Funeral services were held at St. Ukrainian activist and wife of the late and an activist who fought for the estab- author of several Ukrainian-language col- Nicholas Ukrainian Greek-Catholic leader of Rukh and former Soviet politi- lishment and development of an inde- lections of poetry, including “Na Church at Askold’s Tomb in Kyiv on cal prisoner Vyacheslav Chornovil, died pendent Ukrainian state. Perekhrestiakh” (Munich, 1989), “Na March 23. Burial followed at the Baykiv on March 20 in Kyiv. She was 80. She was born on October 10, 1931, in Vistri Svichky” (Baltimore-Toronto, 1991) Cemetery, where Ms. Pashko was laid to Ms. Pashko was an active participant the village of Bystrytsia, Drohobych area and “Lezo Moyeyi Stezhky” (Kyiv, 1997). rest alongside her husband.

henchman of Hitler a few moments ago. A laughter, she managed to sometimes turn illustrate something very special. John A eulogy... storm of indignation broke out. How could him away from his pain and grief. If Pani Demjanjuk was a wonderful person, a gentle somebody dare to wish and sing that the Vera spoke to him or held his hand, you man, a fine old gentleman. The longer you (Continued from page 3) devil, the worst villain of all villains, should could see a smile in his eyes. knew him, you simply came to love him. He In April of 2011, John had his 91st birth- have a long and happy life? Such a beast The birthday song and the furious reac- made our time together rich and precious. day. During this time, the trial was held in cannot have a birthday. Such a villain tion of the co-plaintiffs to this simple ges- John’s fate shows us that the apocalypse of the Munich Justice Palace to give the Jewish should hang from the gallows and not earn ture of humanity had an effect. For us, John the Holocaust can happen easily again when co-plaintiffs an arena for their bizarre and health and many years. The press reported was definitely no longer just a client, he hate, revenge and retaliation are the moti- hypocritical accusations against John in a the scandal with big headlines. The presi- had become in some way part of our family. vating forces of human action. Peace historic setting. But then something hap- dent of the District Court warned me and We liked him and felt responsible for him. between people and nations can only be pened during a break in the hearing. John announced that he would ban my wife When he was feeling all right, we felt all achieved through affection, brotherhood, was being moved down the hall, and sud- from the courthouse if she attempted to do right. And when he became a free man on fairness, love and understanding. denly a voice was singing “Mnohaya Lita” such a thing again. May 12, 2011, upon his release from pris- John, you have enriched our lives. We (many years) to John. It was my wife who My wife had somehow taken care of on, we were simply happy. Somehow he will never forget you. Goodbye John. May was congratulating John on his birthday. John as much as was possible under his cir- was always with us, even though he lived the Lord shine His eternal light upon John But the song was heard by the co-plaintiffs cumstances of being incarcerated. With her hundreds of miles away in a nursing home. and give him eternal rest in peace. too, who had just called John a terrible natural and special Ukrainian humor and I have said these words because they Vichnaya Pamiat! No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 5

The Ukrainian National Association Forum

Portion of Soyuzivka lands to be preserved as parkland acquisition could not be concluded until now. will be preserved in perpetuity for the benefit of the gener- Open Space Institute The lands acquired by Open Space will be conveyed to al public and passive recreational opportunities will be the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic expanded. At the same time, Soyuzivka will continue its purchases 233 acres Preservation (OPRHP) as an addition to the Minnewaska 60-year mission of preserving Ukrainian heritage and cus- State Park Preserve. Lands previously acquired by OSI in toms on its remaining extensive 130-plus acres.” PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Ukrainian National Association the vicinity of the UNA lands include a 1,366-acre tract The UNA president underscored, “Guests of Soyuzivka President Stefan Kaczaraj on April 10 announced that a acquired from the Shevchenko Scientific Society and other will continue to enjoy these stunning lands, the hiking 233-acre parcel of Soyuzivka lands was sold to the well- parcels held by local landowners. The Open Space Institute trails, the falls and the stream with the knowledge that the known nature conservancy Open Space Institute in an has been a leader in the preservation of the Shawangunks, beloved forest of Soyuzivka will be protected and pre- effort to protect these lands in perpetuity. The property of protecting over 32,000 acres of land on and around the served for future generations.” the Soyuzivka Heritage Center, which encompassed over Shawangunk Ridge. Kim Elliman, OSI’s president and CEO, said the latest 366 acres before the sale, is located in Kerhonkson, N.Y., in “The Open Space Institute has been a wonderful partner acquisition of land “protects a significant swath of the the scenic Shawangunk Mountains. for years,” said OPRHP Commissioner Rose Harvey. “The western escarpment of the Shawangunk Ridge” and “fur- The Open Space Institute protects scenic, natural and lands that OSI has added to Minnewaska over the years thers OSI’s long-term commitment to the preservation of historic landscapes to ensure public enjoyment, conserve have greatly enhanced visitors’ experience at the preserve. the Shawangunk Ridge and the trails, carriage roads, habitats and sustain community character. Through its The acquisition of the spectacular UNA property adds streams, lakes and stunning vistas that make this one of New York Land Program, the organization has protected another chapter to the partnership.” New York’s most cherished places.” more than 116,000 acres in that state alone, where it has For almost 60 years, guests to Soyuzivka have enjoyed The consolidation of property is also expected to reap been active for over 40 years. Its primary focus areas in the forested lands just acquired by OSI, which include a other benefits for Soyuzivka, such as a reduction in proper- New York, in addition to the Shawangunks, are the rushing mountain stream known as the Little Stony Kill ty taxes and potentially a reduction in insurance liability Adirondacks, the Capital Region and Kinderhook corridor, and the 75-foot Nonkanawha Falls, one of the last unpro- costs, explained UNA Treasurer Roma Lisovich. the Catskills and the lower Hudson Valley. tected falls in the Shawangunks. “We eagerly await the opening of the 2012 season,” The acquisition of the Soyuzivka parcel was first pro- “The transfer of these scenic lands to the Open Space added Nestor Paslawsky, Soyuzivka’s general manager. posed back in 2007 and approved by the UNA General Institute neatly fulfills the common goals of two very “Our summer camps, Ukrainian Cultural Festival and all Assembly at that time. Due to the financial crisis of 2008, diverse organizations,” said Mr. Kaczaraj. “From the point other cultural events will continue as in the past, and we the Open Space Institute lost its funding source and the of view of Open Space, this environmentally sensitive tract look forward to welcoming our guests.”

Northern N.J. District Committee UNA Almanac for 2012 elects officers, discusses activity focuses on Plast centennial

by Roma Hadzewycz officers: Yuriy Symczyk, chairman; Mr. PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The 2012 Almanac of Woch, vice-chairman; Mr. Welhasch, secre- the Ukrainian National Association com- PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The Northern New tary; Mr. Honcharyk, treasurer; Roma memorates the 100th anniversary of Plast Jersey District Committee of the Ukrainian Hadzewycz, English-language press liaison; Ukrainian Scouting Organization, founded National Association held its elections Mr. Bohdan, organizational coordinator; in Lviv in 1911-1912. The first Plast groups meeting here at the UNA Home Office on Neonila Sochan and Oksana Trytjak, mem- were organized in 1911, and the first group March 16. bers at large; Mr. Oscislawski, Ms. Stanko of Plast scouts took the Plast oath in April Present were representatives of UNA and Mr. Koziupa, auditors. The slate was of 2012. Branches 25, 37, 42, 76, 133, 171, 172, 234 unanimously elected. The publication, released earlier this and 287. (Branches 27, 70 and 142 were During the discussion of a plan of activi- year by Svoboda Press, also includes sec- not represented at the meeting.) Also in ty for the new term of office, the following tions devoted to the 80th anniversary of the attendance were two UNA executive offi- topics were raised: recruiting people of Holodomor, the Famine-Genocide of 1932- cers, First Vice-President Michael Koziupa Ukrainian ancestry who are in the insur- 1933, and the 70th anniversary of the and Second Vice-President Eugene ance business to sell UNA products; founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Oscislawski. encouraging UNA branch members to (known by its Ukrainian acronym as UPA). A report on the activity of the Northern become professional insurance agents; All three anniversaries are significant for New Jersey District was delivered by the dis- increasing the UNA’s presence and visibility Ukrainians worldwide, therefore, the UNA trict chairman, Stephan Welhasch, while the in the Ukrainian community; promoting Almanac for 2012 is sure to have a wide- report of the auditing committee, chaired by participation in the annual Father’s Day ranging resonance among readers. Mr. Oscislawski, was delivered by committee celebration at Soyuzivka; and marking the The 288-page book also contains the member Oksana Stanko. Special praise was 120th anniversary of Svoboda and the 80th traditional Gregorian and Julian liturgical given to the district treasurer, Walter anniversary of The Ukrainian Weekly in calendars for 2012, as well as special sec- Honcharyk, for his exemplary work. 2013. tions on notable personages, historical top- The Nominating Committee, composed After the meeting, members enjoyed ics, contemporary political realities, litera- gle copy (postage included) is $15; addi- of Steven Woch (chairman), Mr. Honcharyk refreshments as they continued their dis- ture and travels. tional donations to the Svoboda Press Fund and Michael Bohdan, then proposed the cussions about the UNA’s and the Northern Copies of the UNA Almanac were mailed are welcomed. following slate of candidates for district New Jersey District’s activity. at the beginning of the year to all subscrib- The UNA Almanac’s editor is Petro ers of Svoboda. However, anyone who Chasto, an editor on the staff of Svoboda. desires to obtain a copy (or additional cop- Cover design, as in previous years, is by ies of the publication) may order it directly Stepan Slutsky, who in early 2011 also from the Svoboda administration by calling became the layout artist for The Ukrainian 973-292-9800, ext. 3042. The cost of a sin- Weekly.

Saturday, april 28, 2012 Hartford Ct The Annual Meeting of UNA Branch 277, St John Society, will be held at 2:00p.m. at the Ukrainian National Home of Hartford, 961 Wethersfield Avenue, Hartford CT 06114. Myron Kolinsky, Branch President Newly elected Chairman Yuriy Symczyk (fifth from left) and fellow officers of the Northern New Jersey District Committee of the UNA. From left are: Michael Koziupa, Roma Hadzewycz, Oksana Stanko, Michael Bohdan, Mr. Symczyk, Walter The UNA: 118 years of service to our community Honcharyk, Stephan Welhasch and Eugene Oscislawski. 6 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

NEWS AND VIEWS The Ukrainian Weekly Reset the “reset” Ukrainian boy’s brave struggle for life With Vladimir Putin getting ready to begin a six-year term as Russia’s president on May 7, it’s a good time for the U.S. to take a look at its foreign policy in that part of inspires his countrymen, U.S. doctors the world. President Barack Obama, whose administration instituted a “reset” of by Patrice Driscoll-Stigliano plicated by the limitations of time, the diffi- relations with Russia, needs to take a step back and take note of where Mr. Putin’s culty of medical transportation of a critical- Russia is headed. Mr. Obama has ignored many of Russia’s warts in pursuit of his for- BOSTON – On February 4 at 2 a.m. in the ly ill patient over such a distance, and by eign policy goals in other parts of the world, even when Russia has thwarted U.S. village of Dolynivka, Lviv Oblast, a house the severe cold-weather conditions in efforts. And, his focus on Russia has been much to the detriment of other countries was incinerated, as a family of six, three Europe and Ukraine,” said Dr. Fuzaylov. in the post-Soviet space. adults and three children, were severely “The transport process of this patient was In Belarus and Ukraine, for example, there have been many disturbing develop- ments. In Ukraine, under the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, there has been a burned in the blaze The mother and the coordinated by a support group within the marked rollback in democracy and persecution of the opposition. In Belarus, under grandmother died immediately in the fire. Lviv government, who worked 24 hours a the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, things have gotten progressively worse, as The grandfather heroically carried the day. The governor and the mayor provided opposition activists are prohibited from traveling abroad and democratic activists three children out of the burning house. efficient and creative ground transporta- are imprisoned. What’s more, many observers see Russia’s hand at work in both After battling for his life for 48 hours, tion from the hospital to the medical air- Belarus and Ukraine, as Russia works at wresting control of strategic assets and acts the grandfather finally succumbed to his craft team, MedFlight911. In addition, a to counter sanctions imposed by the West. burns over 95 percent of his body, inhala- U.S. medical team provided constant sup- Prof. Alexander J. Motyl of Rutgers, writing about Russia’s threats to Ukraine, tion injuries and carbon monoxide poison- port throughout Andrij’s journey.” noted that “Ukraine’s policymakers have compounded their country’s problems by ing. Seventy-two hours later the 14-year- As soon as Dr. Fuzaylov was first con- behaving as if they were paid agents of Russian hard power.” Fred Hiatt, editorial old girl died from burns over 90 percent of tacted by the Lviv doctor, Boston Shriners page editor and columnist of The Washington Post, wrote about Belarusian opposi- her body and carbon monoxide poisoning, agreed to accept all three Tsarynskyj chil- tion leader Stanislau Shushkevich, a former chairman of the country’s Parliament, followed by the two-year-old boy with sim- dren for free treatment. Shriners support- and shared his message that Belarus is politically and economically stifled, and that ilar injuries. The only survivor was Andrij, a ive staff worked around the clock to facili- Mr. Lukashenka retains his position thanks only to financial and political backing 12-year-old boy, who continued to battle tate an entry visa for Andrij and his uncle, from Mr. Putin. “Nothing can be done except through Moscow,” Mr. Shushkevich said. burns over 87 percent of his body, inhala- who because of the loss of his parents “The Americans could – but never do – put some pressure on Putin to live up to the tion injuries and carbon monoxide poison- became Andrij’s new legal guardian. many documents he has signed regarding human rights.” ing. The tragedy of Andrij and his family Part of the problem lies in this fact, pointed out by Mr. Hiatt in another commen- The child continued to fight for his life in inspired many people to come together. tary: “More than three years into his term, it’s possible to assess where the promotion Hospital No. 8 with Vasyl Savchyn as his Andrij struggled courageously to sur- of democracy and freedom ranks in President Obama’s foreign policy: not high.” doctor. Knowing the child had only days, at vive. After a month in intensive care and Although Mr. Obama had rejected his predecessor’s “Freedom Agenda,” he “portrayed most, to live with the technology and numerous operations, including treatment himself as faithful to a tradition of American support for democracy,” Mr. Hiatt writes; resources available to him locally, Dr. of burn sepsis, bleeding ulcers and severe he has, “at times, acted on that tenet. … Overall, though, he has shown little passion for Savchyn contacted his colleagues in Boston pneumonia, he passed away due to pulmo- the cause.” Mr. Hiatt cited Mr. Obama’s weak response to the Arab Spring, saying he to initiate a heroic attempt to save the nary complications found too frequently in treated it “as if it were an unwanted distraction, not a historic opening,” and noted his child’s life. inhalation injuries. His chances of survival “half-hearted advocacy of democracy,” which reflects “his hard-headed pragmatism.” Doctors Collaborating to Help Children, were poor from the beginning, but the val- Separately, The Washington Post editorialized: “President Obama has responded a charitable organization established by iant efforts of the people of Ukraine, the to Mr. Putin’s return to the presidency by strongly affirming his commitment to part- Drs. Gennadiy Fuzaylov and Daniel Driscoll, medical teams in flight and at Boston nering with the strongman. His meant-to-be-confidential assurance to outgoing planned and facilitated the extremely com- Shriners Hospital kept him alive for four President Dmitry Medvedev on [March 26], that ‘after my election I have more flexi- plex transport of the 12–year-old, Andrij weeks. bility’ to solve ‘all these issues, but particularly missile defense,’ was only the latest Tsarynskyj of Lviv, from Ukraine to the The experience, while failing to save sign that Mr. Obama has decided to bet on deal-making with Mr. Putin rather than on United States. Andrij, has helped streamline the process democratic change in Russia.” The governor of Lviv Oblast, Mykhailo of the transfer of critically injured children Clearly, it’s time to reset the “reset.” Kostiuk, and the mayor of Lviv, Andriy to Boston. It has also helped the people of Sadovyy, immediately initiated a successful Ukraine know that Americans are willing campaign to raise funds to transport the to help, and that the Ukrainian doctors boy to Boston Shriners Hospital. Amazingly, know they have supportive colleagues a the citizens of Lviv raised more than phone call away. Andrij’s brave journey will April Turning the pages back... $250,000 within less than a two-day period. save future unfortunate burn victims of his “The transport of Andrij was very com- country. Last year, on April 21, 2011, 260 members of Ukraine’s 21 Parliament, made up mostly of the Party of Regions of Ukraine, the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Volodymyr Lytvyn Bloc, voted 2011 to require all administrative buildings to hang the Soviet victory flag on the national holiday of Victory Day (May 9), recognized as Panel examines realities and initiatives the day that the Nazis surrendered to the Soviet Red Army. The Soviet victory flag was the assault flag of the 150th Idrytskyi Rifle Division that was on empowerment of Ukraine’s rural women raised above the Reichstag in Berlin on May 1, 1945. The flag is red and features a hammer and sickle, similar to the flag of the Soviet Union. Not since Ukraine declared independence by Iryna Koshulap villages. The panel was moderated by from the Soviet Union in 1991 had the state required displaying a hammer-and-sickle flag, Marianna Zajac, president of the Ukrainian which is considered a symbol of tyranny and genocide by millions of Ukrainians. NEW YORK – The annual sessions of the National Women’s League of America, an “The Constitution of Ukraine requires hanging only the Ukrainian national flag, and any United Nations Commission on the Status organizational co-sponsor of the event. other flag needs other legal grounds,” said Yuriy Yakymenko, director of political-legal pro- of Women (CSW) bring together experts Ukraine’s permanent representative to grams at the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center for Political and Economic Research. and activists from around the world who the United Nations, Ambassador Yuriy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who spent the first half of his life in the Russian work toward ensuring rights and legal pro- Sergeyev, greeted the speakers and guests Federation, has implemented a policy of reviving Soviet traditions and government tactics. tection for women, women’s access to and spoke briefly about Ukraine’s repre- The move by the Ukrainian government mirrored that of the Russian government, which political and economic resources, as well as sentative at the 56th Session of the CSW, has hoisted the Soviet victory flag at its annual Victory Day celebration ever since 1996. access to education and quality health care. Olena Suslova. Observers said the plan to hoist Soviet flags had several goals: to affirm support among This international forum presents a unique During their presentations, panelists Ukraine’s pro-Russian electorate; to appeal to elderly voters nostalgic for the Soviet era; opportunity to discuss the particular prob- Olena Suslova, Dr. Martha Kichorowska and to humiliate and provoke pro-Western Ukrainians, particularly those who live in the lems faced by women worldwide, as well as Kebalo and Dr. Kathryn Vasilaky, were country’s western regions. share the best practices that have been unanimous in their conclusion that the tri- The parliamentary opposition, consisting of the Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine – used both to eliminate discrimination and ple burden of low-wage employment, People’s Self-Defense blocs, issued a statement on April 22, 2011, that called for President to empower women. domestic work, and subsistence farming Viktor Yanukovych to veto the legislation. “If you don’t love the Ukrainian state, hate the that women in rural areas have to carry is Ukrainian people, and if this isn’t your country, surrender your passports, your deputies’ In recent years, the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO), now combined with the additional burden mandates, and go to where they hang red flags,” said National Deputy Arseniy Yatsenyuk, of deteriorating conditions and infrastruc- leader of the Front for Change party. an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations, has been joining this forum ture of the Ukrainian village. This combina- The Lviv City Council voted on April 21, 2011, to forbid city organs from using any tion of factors has resulted in alarming sta- Communist symbols on Victory Day. “On this day, we don’t have any moral right to speak by organizing panels that help draw atten- tistics on the increasing rates of poverty, of a victory,” the Lviv Oblast Council said in an April 6, 2011, statement directed towards tion to the issues that are relevant to the and decreasing rates of employment, and those organs that passed the measure. “It’s proven in documents that Ukrainians suffered Ukrainian society and women in Ukraine. decreased access to education and health the most losses during the years of the war. A significant portion of the soldiers of the Red This year’s panel, “Rural Women: services among women. Army didn’t fight for Stalin or the Soviet Union, but because of ruthless fire in the backs Realities and Initiatives Toward The paper of Dr. Iryna Klyuchkovska, from NKVD detachments,” the council noted. Empowerment,” held on March 1 near the director of the International Institute of Source: “Rada approves display of Soviet victory flag,” by Zenon Zawada, The Ukrainian U.N. headquarters, focused on the frequent- Weekly, May 1, 2011. ly challenging realities of women’s lives in (Continued on page 8) No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 7

The things we do ... by Orysia Paszczak Tracz

‘Bless us, mother, to call spring...’ Eine kleine The young girls and teenagers singing teasing ones – where the two groups joke Vergangenheitsbewältigung and “walking” the hahilky/vesnianky on and taunt each other with mild funny the streets outside our churches in the insults. Sometime the older people were The other day, at a historical conference, a racy than the entire Yanukovych regime. United States and Canada on Velykden included in the joking songs. fellow was proudly telling me about his On March 5, Ukraine Nachrichten pub- (Easter) this week may or may not know The calling out, the waking up of spring grandfather, who had joined what he termed lished Nikolai Berdnik’s provocatively titled what the purpose of their actions is. and the sun is obvious in the hahilka a “terrorist” group in the Arab-Israeli war of analysis, “One People, One Hero, One Opinion: They are not dancing, as in regular folk “Blahoslovy Maty, vesnu zaklykaty, zymu 1948. I was struck by his casual, matter-of- Ukrainian Ultra-Nationalists Prevent Lectures dancing. They are slow-walking, ritual provodzhaty” (Bless us, Mother, to call fact use of this loaded term. Can one, I later by a German Historian and Put Academic dancing – recreating the very ancient spring, and to bid farewell to winter). wondered, similarly defuse the term “fas- Freedom in the Country into Question.” spring ritual songs and dances of pre- Women had the power and the connection cist?” Should one? Berdnik complained that Svoboda’s Andrii Christian Ukraine. The word for the action to the forces of nature to do this. I was thinking of the dissertation of Ilienko had called Mr. Rossolinski-Liebe a half- is “vodyty,” (to lead, to carry out), as in Other themes are agricultural (about graduate student Grzegorz Rossolinski- educated Ukrainophobe, and pointed out that “vodyty hahilky.” These were done to call sowing specific seeds, planting various Liebe, a Polish-born German citizen, which the graduate student’s talk was not intended out spring, to call the spring sun to return, plants and other farm actions), about is titled “Stepan Bandera: The Life and for experts and contained nothing revolution- to bid farewell to winter, to encourage fer- migrating birds returning, and about ani- Afterlife of a Ukrainian Fascist, 1909-2009.” ary. German Ukrainianist Andreas Umland tility of the soil and its many plants, and to mals and insects (“Zhuchok” – beetle), His planned lecture tour of Ukraine, spon- criticized the government for not protecting ensure that romance bloomed. Later, his- romantic courting and wedding themes, sored by the distinguished Heinrich Böll academic freedom. The Böll Foundation’s torical themes became included, from the and those honoring departed ancestors. Foundation, the German Embassy and the Ukrainian representative, Kyrylo Savyn, times of the medieval Kyiv era, and of serf- The sun played an important role, as it German Academic Exchange Service, issued a declaration in order to correct vari- dom and the Kozak times. For example, the was to be coaxed out of its winter sleep, resulted in a scandal that continues to agi- ous misrepresentations and set the record hahilka “Zelman” is about the serfs need- and many vesnianky were “walked” to fol- tate Ukrainian public opinion. straight. The righteous indignation even ing to wait for the doors to the church to be low the path of the sun. If one had set out to polarize the Ukrainian spread to the “Land of the Free” – where a opened by the agent of the Polish lord. Yevhen Onatsky notes that in central intelligentsia, pitting liberals against patri- telephone call from an influential organiza- There are many words for these spring Ukraine, along the Dnipro River, vesnianky ots, provoking the ultra-nationalists, dis- tion can nix an entire university lecture series. songs and ritual dances: hahilka, hayivka, were carried out throughout all of spring, crediting a premier university, dividing the The discussion then turned to the ques- yahilka, yahailonka, hahulka, halahulka, while in western Ukraine, hahilky were political opposition, alienating the Europe- tion of what the term “fascist” really meant. mayivka, rohulka and vesnianka. These are sung during the Easter celebrations. “Not ans and making Ukraine look barbaric – one In Istorychna Pravda Anton Shekhovtsov mostly regional variations, but some have every vesnianka can be considered a hahil- could not have devised a better scenario. criticized the Ukrainians’ low level of politi- specific connotations, such as vesnianka ka, but every hahilka is actually a vesnian- Although the title of Mr. Rossolinski- cal sophistication, which led them to under- (spring song) and mayivka (May song). ka,” he noted. Liebe’s lecture did not, in fact, contain the stand the word simply as a term of abuse Ryndzivka was a ritual song sung by young When you watch or participate in word “fascist,” the ultra-nationalist Svoboda aimed at the entire people. He cited a letter men in the Yavoriv area near Lviv. After the hahilky on Easter morning, think about youth reportedly threatened both him and by Olena Betlii and Kateryna Dysa of the coming of Christianity, the vesnianky were what they mean, and how important this the organizers of his appearances. At least National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy done on the church grounds, where before aspect of our ancient culture is – that it is partly as a result of this, some lectures attempting to justify their refusal to host the they were carried out by bodies of water still carried out on the streets near our planned for Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv were German scholar by his overly broad theme (rivers, lakes) and groves (thus hayivka – churches today, in the 21st century. cancelled – a few of them at the last moment. and misuse of the “unscholarly” term “fas- from hai, or grove). In the end, the scholar – a former student of cism.” It was they who weren’t up on the lat- Almost all spring songs were sung and John-Paul Himka and by all accounts a rather est scholarship, alleged Mr. Shekhovtsov, danced by young women, with the men Orysia Tracz may be contacted at orysia. disagreeable fellow – ended up speaking on because this had become a legitimate histor- ical concept. In a brief but penetrating analy- only joining in on specific humorous and [email protected]. March 1 at the German Embassy in Kyiv. No incidents were reported. sis in Zakhid-Net, however, Oleksandr But the uproar was only beginning. It was Zaitsev argued that “fascism” is not an not just a matter of denigrating a man whom appropriate term for Ukrainian nationalism many Ukrainians regard as a national hero. It because, unlike the Germans, Italians, UCCA to host election observer mission, was the gall of the Germans, of all people, lec- Romanians and Hungarians, Ukrainian turing Ukrainians about fascism. As Polish nationalists did not have their own nation- historian Konstanty Gebert acidly remarked state. In fact, because of the German occupa- calls for volunteers to serve as monitors about the work of the German Historical tion, their movement became anti-fascist. UCCA ed in the Verkhovna Rada. The law also Institute in Warsaw, first the Germans teach Zaitsev proposed a new category, restricts the participation of blocs or the Poles how to kill Jews, then they teach “Ustashism,” after the Croatian national NEW YORK – The Ukrainian Congress electoral alliances, and continues the them how to be sorry. (Paul Hockenos, “Can movement of the same period. Ukrainian Committee of America (UCCA) will once practice of maintaining closed party Germany Help Central Europe Confront Its ultra-nationalism, he maintained, fits much again play an active part in the parlia- lists, which prevents voters from know- Dark Past?” The Chronicle Review, Chronicle better into this framework. mentary elections in Ukraine slated for ing for whom they are casting their bal- of Higher Education, March 4.) Some see this How, then, do we define fascism? To this Sunday, October 28, by hosting a delega- lots. as part of a German campaign to transfer amateur, there are three possible answers. tion of international election observers. The UCCA’s both long-and short-term responsibility for the Holocaust to other peo- One is to draw it so broadly as to comfort- As one of the few non-governmental observers helps to ensure that the elec- ples such as the Ukrainians – the Munich trial ably include East and Western European organizations, and the only Ukrainian tions are conducted in a free and fair of the late John Demjanjuk being a case in and even Latin American integral national- American community organization, reg- manner. Coordinators of the election point. Besides, “Ukrainian fascism” was rath- isms. This would allow Ukraine to show its political maturity by joining the ranks of istered with Ukraine’s Central Election observer mission will conduct extensive er a sidelight in the terrible history of 20th nations that have admitted to a “fascist” past Commission (CEC), the UCCA has been training seminars, provide practical century Ukraine. without losing their legitimacy and honor. actively involved in sending observer information on how best to serve as If Ukrainians need a little “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” – that won- But it would homogenize a term which does, missions to Ukraine since 1991. international monitors, coordinate in- derful sausage-word meaning “mastery of after all, mean something nasty, inflating it As the upcoming elections are critical country travel and lodging, provide the past,” “overcoming” or “coming to terms to the point of meaninglessness. A second to Ukraine’s future democratic develop- translators and guides if necessary, and with” the past – shouldn’t they start with the solution is to limit it to Italian fascism (if ment, the UCCA has been carefully moni- furnish official CEC accreditation and 70-year legacy of Soviet Communism? That, only because of the word’s Roman deriva- toring the pre-election process. There is comprehensive informational packets. after all, casts a much longer shadow on tion), and to call every other similar move- growing apprehension about potential The UCCA will be coordinating its Ukraine’s current political life. ment by its precise name: German Nazism, fraud and abuse of administrative observer mission with the Ukrainian To some observers, all this merely proved Spanish Falangism, Argentinian Peronism, resources, possible restrictions on free World Congress delegation and other that Ukrainians were not sufficiently civi- and so on. But then one would have to come and open debate in Ukraine’s mass non-governmental organizations. lized to confront their own history. On March up with a name for the Ukrainian move- media, the buying of election commis- Application forms for those interested 1, Per Anders Rudling and Jared McBride ment. Mr. Zaitsev’s proposal to separate the sion members, as well as voter confusion in volunteering to serve as international published a piece in The Algemeiner with national-liberation struggles of stateless and apathy, the UCCA noted. election observers with the UCCA mis- the dramatic title “Ukrainian Academic peoples from “fascist” movements is per- An additional concern is the return to sion will be available on the UCCA web- Freedom and Democracy under Siege.” Anti- haps the best approach. a mixed proportional-majoritarian elec- site in the coming weeks. For further German blogs and headlines, they com- In the latter two cases, however, Mr. tion law. The new election law raises the information about the program, readers plained, had appeared in the Ukrainian Rossolinski-Liebe would have to change the threshold for representation from 3 per- may contact the UCCA National Office press; worse yet, Mr. Rossilinski-Liebe’s title of his dissertation. cent to 5 percent, thus hampering the either by e-mail at [email protected] or by scholarship had been impugned. Evidently, a ability of smaller parties to be represent- phone at 212-228-6840. few Svoboda hooligans and cowed academ- Andrew Sorokowski can be reached at ics pose a greater threat to Ukrainian democ- [email protected]. 8 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

Panel examines... (Continued from page 6)

Education, Culture and Communications, Lviv Polytechnic University, was translated and presented by Dr. Kichorowska Kebalo. The paper noted that people living in rural areas in Ukraine are almost twice as likely to be below Ukraine’s poverty level as com- pared to the urban population. The increas- ing age of the rural population – caused by mass emigration of young people and a decrease in the birth rate – calls for partic- ular attention, since this a trend has already resulted in the disappearance of 200 to 300 villages each year. The general pessimism about the situa- tion of the Ukrainian village is reflected in opinion polls that indicate that 60 percent of the residents of rural areas believe that Renata Zajac their village is deteriorating or dying. At the panel “Rural Women: Realities and Initiatives toward Empowerment” (from left) are: Dr. Marta Kichorowska-Kebalo, Women bear the brunt of this deterio- Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev, Marianna Zajac, Olena Suslova and Kathryn Vasilaky. rating situation, yet have little means to improve it. Employed in jobs now consid- Ms. Suslova, in her presentation, offered stressed the connection between the skills and oldest Ukrainian women’s organiza- ered traditional for rural women in Ukraine several examples of small-scale projects and knowledge that women have at their tion, the UNWLA, to help Ms. Suslova be – generally low-skilled, low-paid manual and policies that improve the work condi- disposal and the social norms that shape elected as Ukraine’s representative to the jobs, such as the cultivating of grain, sugar tions of women and help them start a suc- them. Technological advances now offer CEDAW. beets and sunflowers or breeding pigs and cessful agribusiness. Options range from women an electronic connection with a The other representatives of North tending cattle – women receive little the enhancement of milk production to the broader world; these changes should be American Ukrainian diaspora women’s respect and have little opportunity for improvement of people’s access to infor- taken into account during the development organizations present also expressed their improvement or advancement. mation about the work of national and of new training programs sponsored by support of Ms. Suslova’s nomination and Current strategies for the modernization regional government entities, as well ways international organizations and govern- their sincere hope that she wins the neces- of farms, instead of improving the lives of of providing feedback on policies and legis- ments, if new programs are to be relevant sary vote of the CEDAW members in June rural women often result in the loss of jobs; lation. to women, she said. to join the Experts Committee. whereas women make up 40 percent of the Dr. Vasilaky, vice-president of research Sponsors of the WFUWO panel, which The informal discussion at the labor force in agriculture, they are found in and strategy for TroopSwap in Washington, attracted a considerable audience, included Permanent Mission ended with fond recol- only 22.3 percent of middle and 5 percent placed the discussion about the challenges the NGO Committee on the Family (part of lections of some of the dramatic changes of top managerial positions in agrarian faced by rural women into the context of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative during the 20 years of Ukraine’s renewed enterprises. The growing rates of maternal rural East Africa. She encouraged those in Status with the United Nations), the independence. mortality and breast cancer (that too often attendance to think how the experience of International Council of Women and the Ms. Suslova, who is currently the gender is diagnosed at the advanced stages) pres- developing female entrepreneurship in National Council of Women (USA), and the activity coordinator for the Parliamentary ent yet another reason for concern about Northern Uganda can reverberate with the event gathered a considerable audience. Development Program of Ukraine and a the condition of rural women, Dr. challenges that can be observed in other The involvement of the Permanent Mission founder and chair of the Women’s Klychkovska’s research showed. parts of the world, including Ukraine. She of Ukraine to the United Nations was Information Consultative Center (Ukraine), viewed as particularly important since shared her memories about her first steps most of the programs for the development in the women’s movement in Ukraine and and improvement of the lives of rural the inspiration she drew from the copies of women in Ukraine are supported by inter- Our Life (the monthly publication of the national organizations and funds, yet the UNWLA) that came into her possession in Ukrainian government, as pointed out by the early 1990s. Ms. Suslova, has not to date formed a com- Such interactions only confirm the prehensive vision and policies for the reviv- importance of the work that the UNWLA al or transformation of the village. and the WFUWO have been doing to encourage and support the Ukrainian Discussion of gender equality women’s movement since independence, Also, on March 1, many of the partici- Ms. Suslova noted, and this year’s panel pants and guests of the panel later had an devoted to the realities of rural women’s opportunity to continue the discussion lives in Ukraine is a good example of the about the status of women in Ukraine and continued cooperation between the the state’s commitment to the principle of Ukrainian women’s organizations in gender equality at the meeting with Ms. Ukraine and abroad. Suslova that took place in the main confer- UNWLA Honorary President Anna ence room at Ukraine’s Permanent Mission Krawczuk recalled the first time in 1993 to the United Nations. At the invitation of that UNWLA representatives met with the Ambassador Sergeyev, the UNWLA orga- newly re-established Soyuz Ukrainok, nized this informal meeting and Ms. Zajac, among whom were Ms. Suslova and Ella as moderator of this discussion, asked Ms. Lamakh, a representative of Ukraine who Suslova to explain the process and impor- was also present at this meeting. Ms. tance of Ukraine’s participation in the Krawczuk expressed her gratitude and sat- Committee on the Elimination of isfaction that those first, tentative efforts Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). took root and that two decades later the 30 Established in 1982, the committee women around the conference table could oversees progress with regard to women’s so openly and freely engage in dialogue. issues made in those countries that ratified Although many positive steps were the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of noted, the evening ended on a somber note All Forms of Discrimination against as all participants expressed frustration Women. Ms. Suslova has been nominated with the apparent reversal of Ukraine’s as Ukraine’s candidate for a three-year democracy and respect for human rights, in term (2013-2016) to the 23-member inter- particular, as noted by Oksana Kis, visiting national committee that monitors and professor at Columbia University, the dubi- implements the provisions of the CEDAW ous prosecution of Yulia Tymoshenko that Convention. This is the first time that carried with it a barely hidden sexist dis- Ukraine is nominating a candidate to the dain for powerful women by Ukraine’s cur- Experts Committee. rent president, Viktor Yanukovych. Although the United States is only one of six countries (of 193) that has not yet rati- Irene Jarosewich, representative of the fied the convention (along with Sudan, World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Somalia, Iran and the Pacific Island nations Organizations to the United Nations of Palau and Tonga), Ms. Zajac nonetheless Department of Public Information, contribut- pledged the support of America’s largest ed to this article. No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 9 “UKRAINE AT THE CROSSROADS”: CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS the Ukrainian voter’s belief in the electoral process. In addition, Ukrainian voters need to know that the Eugene Czolij international community will not only be observing Ukraine’s elections, but that the Ukrainian people will not Following are excerpts of the address by Ukrainian World be abandoned if parliamentary power is seized by fraudu- Congress President Eugene Czolij delivered on March 8. lent force. Looking back at Ukraine’s 2010 presidential elections, …2012 will be a historic year for Ukraine. The eyes of the high level of indifference and the low morale of voters the world will be focused on two upcoming events in were very noticeable. Thus, Ukrainians must be encour- Ukraine. The first is Euro-2012, co-hosted by Ukraine, aged to vote in high numbers and reminded that voting is when the world will get a glimpse of the modern European real empowerment. state that Ukraine has the potential to become. The second We must also redouble our efforts to impress upon is the October parliamentary elections. Ukrainian political leaders that a strong opposition is fun- Unfortunately, the deliberate persecution and incarcera- damental in any democracy, and that the key to an effective tion of two of the most prominent opposition leaders, Yulia opposition is unity. A quick political reality check must Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko, in order to prevent them take place by the leadership of the various opposition from participating in the next parliamentary elections, ren- political parties in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian electorate ders these elections suspect. should be offered a united opposition representing a real Alexander Balaban It is even more troubling to witness the unwillingness of and viable alternative. … Eugene Czolij Ukraine’s governing authorities to pay any real attention to Clearly, a Ukraine firmly settled on the path toward the virtually unanimous calls from the international com- governing authorities to release all political prisoners and European integration is critical to our collective interests, munity to revert back to the path of democracy, preferring enable them to participate in the elections. Otherwise, the especially to maintaining regional peace and stability. instead to belittle such calls and their messengers. … outcome is bound to be tainted. That is why continued engagement with Ukraine should In view of Ukraine’s geopolitical importance, the inter- We must also send as many short- and long-term elec- be encouraged both on an official level and, more impor- national community must not only closely monitor the sit- tion observers as possible. This will help curtail electoral tantly, on the grassroots level to promote and help develop uation in Ukraine, but increase the pressure on Ukraine’s violations, protect the freedom of the press and rekindle civil society in Ukraine. …

be registered on the same terms as observers from politi- Bohdan A. Futey cal parties and candidates. organizations are registered by the CEC and have broad Comments by Judge Bohdan A. Futey delivered on March rights• Official in observing observers the fromprocess other of elections. states and international 8 during the session on Ukraine’s new election law and the 2012 parliamentary elections. coordinate their activities must inform the CEC, but they do •not Two need or moreto seek international prior approval observer of the groupsCEC. wishing to This is the fourth time that the election law is undergoing change in Ukraine since its independence in 1991. At first commissions. the law provided for election of national deputies to With• Official the majorityobservers in canParliament, file complaints the national with deputieselection Parliament by district (majoritarian); then mixed one-half of the Party of Regions will be able to amend the majoritarian and one-half by party lists (proportional). Constitution and extend their power, the power of the Then party lists only, and now back to a mixed system of Donetsk clan, for a long time. This brings in the issue of elections. The new law was adopted November 17, 2011, how the Constitution should be amended. According to and signed by the president in December of 2011. It pro- provisions of the Constitution adopted on June 28, 1996, vides for 450 members in Parliament: 225 elected by party Articles 154-159 clearly delineate what is needed for any lists and 225 in single-mandate districts. The vote in changes to take place. Some work to amend the Parliament on this law was 366 for six against, and five Constitution has already commenced by the commission abstentions. headed by the former President Leonid Kravchuk. During the draft period, the Venice Commission and Bohdan A. Futey Furthermore, the new election law does not decide the experts from the International Foundation for Electoral problem of dividing jurisdiction over electoral disputes if the 1998 decision is not followed, the election could be Systems (IFES) cautioned against such frequent changes of between election commissions and the courts invalidated. According to some deputies, there are two the electoral system. It should be noted that the provisions in the legislation requests before the Constitutional Court to determine this Lack of transparency provoked NGO’s like the National do not completely eliminate risks of duplication of proceed- matter prior to the elections. Pending the court’s decision, Democratic Institute (NDI), and later the International ings and risks of inconsistent decisions, as it could happen the election legislation may be amended. Republican Institute (IRI), to withdraw from the that somewhat related matters would be heard simultane- If the court, however, does not act, there are two possi- President’s draft law working group. (Groups of experts ously by the relevant commission and the Administrative ble scenarios. If the Party of Regions does not get the Court. There is still a possibility that complainants would are invited to participate to give advice, but then no one lis- desired number of deputies in Parliament (a majority), it tens to them and it looks like they have been participating.) strategically choose the venue where to submit their com- could then ask the Constitutional court to review the legali- plaint or engage in so-called “forum-shopping.” As stated by The elimination of former Prime Minister Yulia ty of the election based on the 1998 decision of the Tymoshenko and now former Internal Affairs Minister the Venice Commission, neither the appellants nor the Constitutional Court. I am inclined to think, based on authorities should be able to choose the appeal body. Yurii Lutsenko from the 2012 elections has resulted in recent decisions of that Court, that it will agree with the many, here and in Europe, dismissing the upcoming parlia- Although it is necessary that election commissions pre- Party of Regions and new elections will have to take place. serve the power to decide certain election disputes, the mentary elections as undemocratic. Time will only tell. If, on the other hand, the Party of Regions gets the majority The law contains the same problem as before concern- new law does not decide the problem of dividing jurisdic- of deputies in Parliament, the opposition will then file a tion over electoral disputes between election commissions ing party lists. Only the first five are known to the people. case with the Constitutional Court based on the 1998 deci- The rest of the candidates are unknown. Elections in sin- and the courts. On the contrary, it has to be clear for all the sion. The Constitutional Court could then decide that the participants and other subjects of the electoral process gle-mandate districts now could be a problem because of 1998 decision pertains to a different election law and not recent discussions to change this provision in the law. The where a particular complaint is to be filed. to the present law. The final word for election disputes resolution will be in argument goes that, if a candidate runs on a party list, he Also, it is the responsibility of the Central Election or she cannot run in a district or vice versa. (See the hands of the specialized Administrative Court with the Commission to draw the boundaries for the single-man- Higher Administrative Court at the top. The adoption in July Constitutional Court decision, 1998.) The chairman of the date district. Before the CEC can decide on this matter, it Central Election Commission (CEC), Volodymyr Shapoval, 2010 of the new law on the judiciary and the status of judg- must make a decision as to how many of the 225 single- es, however, highlights a weakened, overly political judicia- who was on the Constitutional Court at the time of the mandate district seats will be allocated to each administra- decision, however, has recently made some comments that ry. That law contemplates a system in which the president tive region. Given that the law allows the number of voters can liquidate courts, in which the Supreme Court has lost in any district to vary by 12 percent, it is possible for these power to lower courts that decide whether or not to refer Bohdan A. Futey is a judge on the United States Court seats to be allocated by a formula that provides advantages cases to the Supreme Court, in which the High Council of of Federal Claims in Washington, appointed by President to some administrative regions over others. So we will Justice exercises a politicized role, and in which the Ronald Reagan in May 1987. Judge Futey has been active have to wait and see how this will be accomplished in the Constitution’s guarantee of a right to a jury trial continues in various rule of law and democratization programs in very near future. to be ignored. The weakening of the judiciary and its grow- Ukraine since 1991. He has participated in judicial Some analysts claim that single-mandate districts in ing subservience to the executive branch reduce the protec- exchange programs, seminars and workshops, and has past elections, including the recent 2010 local elections, tions that the Constitution promises to all Ukrainians. been a consultant to the working group on Ukraine’s were vulnerable to election manipulation where vote buy- In the midst of these violations, one must ask: Where is Constitution and Ukrainian Parliament. He also served ing was rampant and administrative government resourc- Ukraine’s legal community? Where are the lawyers and as an official observer during the parliamentary elec- es were used to favor particular candidates, including jurists in Ukraine to stand up and be counted in the ongo- tions in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006, and presidential court decisions. Therefore, the importance of the presence ing battle to protect the rule of law in Ukraine? In the elections in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2010, and conducted of the international observers during the 2012 elections United States, an array of non-governmental organizations, briefings on Ukraine’s election law and guidelines for should not be underestimated. international observers. (Continued on page 14) • Observers from non-governmental organizations can 10 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16 No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 11 Ukrainian film director seeks English-speaking actors

Artist’s rendering of a scene from “The Guide,” under the film’s working title. The film brings together Ukraine’s finest cinematographic talent: director Oles Sanin, cin- ematographer Serhiy Mihalchuk and art director Serhiy Yakutovich.

by Peter Borisow Guide,” is readied for production this sum- mer, Mr. Sanin has started an international LOS ANGELES – Oles Sanin made history search for a young male actor to play the in Hollywood when his film “Mamay” was title role. “We need a native English speak- presented for Oscar consideration in 2003. er who can also speak some Ukrainian,” Mr. It was the first Ukrainian-language film Sanin explained. “We’re looking for an screened at the Oscars that showed actor in the 12-to 14-year-old range, to Ukrainian culture and history. It played to start filming this summer in Ukraine.” packed houses and was very well received “The Guide” tells the story of an by members of the Academy of Motion American boy who comes to Ukraine with Picture Arts and Sciences. Now, as his long-awaited film, “The (Continued on page 13) 12 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

for urgent surgical intervention or that her in the 1990s, to one of the killers of Mr. the Kyivsky District Court.” He said that the NEWSBRIEFS state of health “is so bad that she needs to Scherban and his wife. Mr. Pshonka also law envisions the holding of preliminary be treated abroad.” He said that the current confirmed that the son of the deceased hearings and then regular hearings. (Continued from page 2) legislation of Ukraine does not foresee deputy, Ruslan Scherban, had applied to Preliminary hearings will take place no treatment of prisoners abroad, as well as the PGO with a complaint regarding the later than 10 days after the court receives 5. Mr. Pshonka said that Ukrainian investi- does not prohibit it. (Interfax-Ukraine) illegal closure of a criminal case on the kill- the materials, he said. When asked whether ing of his father. “We are studying all sce- Ms. Tymoshenko, who complains of illness, gatorsPshonka were said currentlyat a press conferencenot authorized on Аpril to Yulia to be questioned in murder conduct investigative activities with Mr. narios, including the one related to the should attend the hearing of the case in the Lazarenko, although “there are questions” KYIV – Former Prime Minister Yulia business activities of Yevhen Scherban. The Kyivsky District Court or whether a visiting for him. Mr. Lazarenko is serving a sen- Tymoshenko should be questioned in a main thing is to find an instigator,” Mr. court session will be held in the tence in the United States on charges of criminal case on the killing of National Pshonka said. He recalled that the killer of Kachanivska penal colony, Mr. Tiurin said: money laundering. In Ukraine, a criminal Deputy Yevhen Scherban, Procurator the deputy was sentenced to life imprison- “There is a conclusion not only by the doc- ment in 2003. All of the gang members case was opened against Mr. Lazarenko and General Viktor Pshonka said at a press con- tors of the colony, but also by members of a have been identified, eight of them died former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko ference on April 5. “Yulia Tymoshenko highly professional commission created by and some of them suddenly, he said. Mr. for transferring the debt of the United should be questioned in the case of Mr. the Health Ministry, that she is able to par- Scherban was shot dead on November 3, Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) corpo- Scherban’s murder and she should be ticipate in investigative activities that are 1996, at Donetsk Airport upon his arrival conducted with her in the colony and, ration to the Ukrainian budget. (Ukrinform) questioned in the situation that was from Moscow. The criminals fled the scene therefore, she can arrive in court. But the described in his statement by Mr. in a car. Mr. Scherban, his wife and an air- question of her arrival could be considered Ukraine, Germany in talks on Yulia Scherban’s son [regarding the former craft mechanic died of wounds at the again before the hearing.” (Ukrinform) prime minister’s possible involvement in KYIV – Ukraine and Germany are in talks scene. The plane’s flight engineer died at this crime],” Mr. Pshonka said. He said that about the possibility of treating former the hospital from a gunshot wound to the Lutsenko gets medical examination Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a if Ms. Tymoshenko was named in this con- neck. In 2003 the Court of Appeals in German clinic, First Deputy Procurator nection, then there are grounds for that. KYIV – Former Ukrainian Internal Luhansk Oblast sentenced Vadym Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko and repre- General Rinat Kuzmin said. “The negotia- “Of course, if Ms. Tymoshenko proves her Bolotskykh to life imprisonment for the tions are in process. There is a proposal alibi, the investigation will move further, sentatives of the Parliamentary Assembly crime. In October 2011, Ukrainian First of the Council of Europe (PACE) discussed from the German side to treat Ms. but there are questions to her and it’s nec- Deputy Procurator General Renat Kuzmin Tymoshenko in Germany and the topic is essary to clarify them,” the procurator gen- a wide range of issues at a meeting in the said the PGO had received documents from Lukianivsky pre-trial detention center on being discussed,” he said on Inter TV eral said. He noted that the Procurator the U.S. prosecutor’s office confirming Ms. Channel on April 6. He also noted that the General’s Office (PGO) had a document March 29, the press service of the People’s Tymoshenko’s possible involvement in the Self-Defense Party reported. “Today, in the proposal was made by the German side indicating that $2.2 million was trans- Scherban murder. In April of this year and Ms. Tymoshenko herself. Mr. Kuzmin ferred from the accounts of the United Lukianivsky pre-trial detention center, Donetsk Regional Council Deputy Ruslan prisoner Yurii Lutsenko met with the co- added that currently there are no docu- Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) corpo- Scherban (Party of Regions) submitted a ments indicating Ms. Tymoshenko’s need ration, which was led by Ms. Tymoshenko rapporteurs of the Committee of the statement to the PGO pointing to the possi- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of ble involvement of former Prime Minister Europe, Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin and Tymoshenko in the murder of his father. Mailis Reps, and Committee Secretary Bas (Ukrinform) Klein. The meeting lasted about two hours, 12 more years for Tymoshenko? and it was held at the office of the prison chief,” reads the statement, citing the for- TO PLACE YOUR AD CALL WALTER HONCHARYK (973) 292-9800 x3040 KYIV – Investigators have provided evi- mer minister’s wife, Iryna Lutsenko. or e-mail [email protected] dence against former Prime Minister Yulia Foreign guests visited the cell in which Mr. Tymoshenko on five counts in the case Lutsenko is imprisoned and asked him to SERVICES PROFESSIONALS regarding the activities of United Energy give his view of the political situation in the Systems of Ukraine (UESU), which was sub- country. “Yurii Lutsenko made only one mitted to the Kyivsky District Court of request to the European guests: that an ОКСАНА СТАНЬКО Kharkiv. Under various articles, Ms. independent medical examination be con- Ліцензований продавець Tymoshenko could face from five to 12 Страхування Життя ducted by foreign doctors in order to make years in prison, according to Kharkiv an objective assessment of his health,” the OKSANA STANKO Licensed Life Insurance Agent Regional Procurator Hennadii Tiurin, who press service said. Ms. Lutsenko said it was Ukrainian National Assn., Inc. spoke at a press briefing on March 29. impossible to treat her husband’s illness in “Investigators have proven the guilt of Yulia prison, adding that last month he was not 32 Peachtree Rd. Tymoshenko on five counts of the UESU even given painkillers, therefore, his condi- Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 case, including the appropriation of public tion deteriorated. On April 6, Mr. Lutsenko Tel.: 908-872-2192; email: [email protected] funds in a large amount and forgery. This was taken from Kyiv’s pre-trial detention concerns the period of 1997-1998, as well facility to the City Emergency Clinic in Kyiv as a later period,” Mr. Tiurin said. for examination. The decision to conduct Therefore, he said, the procurator’s office medical tests was made according to the has all grounds to issue an indictment in results of the examination of Mr. Lutsenko order to send the case to court. When by a special commission of the Ministry of asked about the prison term that Ms. Health and State Penitentiary Service of Tymoshenko faces in the UESU case, Mr. Ukraine, as well as at the request of the Tiurin said that, “according to various arti- prisoner. (Ukrinform) cles, the period is different – from five to 10 years, or from seven to 12 years.” Mr. Tiurin Security exercises for Euro-2012 added, “The prosecution and defense fully KYIV – Ukraine and NATO will hold a used their right to examine the materials of joint seminar and command-staff strategic the case. Yesterday, the entire package of exercises aimed at security protection dur- the materials was submitted personally to Yulia Tymoshenko, and today it was sent to (Continued on page 13)

Folk Art & Culture Tour Return to the Source with Ukrainian Culture Specialist, Orysia Tracz

September 19 – October 7, 2012

This all inclusive tour combines culture, art, architecture, fine shopping, FOR SALE traditional cuisine plus visits to ancestral villages Space is limited. For full details contact: For sale 2BR corner apartment with Martha Banias outside patio in the Ukrainian Village, (204) 949.0199 ext 208 in Somerset, NJ. Asking $89,900. 1.800.661.3830 [email protected] Contact Irene Kobziar 914-738-7845 (H) or 917-842-8611 (C). www.greatcanadiantravel.com 124B 117B No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 13

the World Bank and the European strengthen cooperation with NATO in a ing to the commission, which didn’t identi- NEWSBRIEFS Investment Bank. Naftohaz will also partic- number of areas of practical cooperation,” fy any producers. (Ukrinform) ipate in a Tender Committee as one of par- and that “the potential of cooperation (Continued from page 12) ticipants. “There will be two participants between Ukraine and NATO, including in Ukraine prepares to raise gas prices ing the Euro-2012 European Football from each bank and from Naftohaz on the the field of missile defense, exists,” the KYIV – Ukraine is developing a plan for a Championship on April 18-20. The Tender Commission,” Mr. Chuprun said. NATO representative said. At the same gradual increase in domestic gas prices as a Ukrainian side at the exercises will be rep- Among possible participants in tender time, Mr. Koziel said that NATO was inter- condition for the resumption of loans from resented by the agencies directly responsi- trading, Mr. Chuprun noted the Italian ested in seeking practical cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ble for security protection during the company Eni, the German companies RWE Russia on missile defense. “Creating oppor- which are critically important for the coun- championship, including the Emergencies and E.ON Ruhrgas, the French Gaz de tunities on missile defense for NATO is as try, which is facing large-scale pre-election Ministry, Internal Affairs Ministry, Health France Suez, U.S. companies Halliburton, an important process as seeking ways of spending and the payment of more than $5 Ministry, the anti-terrorism center of the Exxon Mobil, Chevron and others. In addi- cooperation with Russia as part of the billion in foreign debt this year. First Vice- Security Service of Ukraine and the tion, an offer to participate in the modern- NATO-Russia Council,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, in National Agency on Preparations for and ization of the Ukrainian GTS was sent to work in this area is continuing. (Ukrinform) an interview with Reuters on March 30, Russia’s Gazprom, Mr. Chuprun said. Holding of the Euro-2012 European Exporters suspected of dumping said that talks with the IMF would continue Football Championship Finals in Ukraine European Commissioner for Energy in April. “We are talking about conditions and the Realization of Infrastructure Gunther Oettinger in March assured KYIV – The European Union has threat- to extend the program and opportunities to Projects (Ukreuroinfraproject). Ihor Ukraine that, in June or July, the European ened to impose tariffs on steel tubes from get the next tranche. These talks are con- Dolhov, head of Ukraine’s Mission to NATO, Union will allocate 308 million euros for Ukraine, according to Bloomberg News. stantly being held. I’m confident that our told reporters on March 27 that the exer- the modernization of the Ukrainian GTS. The same measures can be also applied to delegation that will leave for [the United cises will take place at the crisis center on The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia to States] in late April for talks [with the IMF] the base of the Olympiysky National Sports will be the high-priority sector in this proj- curb competition for EU producers. ”The will also raise these questions. They have Complex in Kyiv. “Soccer is very popular in ect. At a March 2009 meeting in Brussels, EU opened a probe into whether not been dropped from the agenda,” Mr. Europe, and demand to see the matches is the government of Ukraine, the European Ukrainian, Turkish and Macedonian Khoroshkovsky said. He added that “it is huge. We hope that the Ukrainian hosts of Commission, the EBRD, the European exporters of welded tubes, pipes and hol- very important to create a system of target- the tournament will do everything for the Investment Bank and the World Bank low profiles sell them in the bloc below ed assistance and then decide under which convenience of their guests. Appropriate signed a joint declaration on the modern- cost, a practice known as dumping,” the schedule tariffs have to be raised to an eco- conditions, including in the security ization of the GTS and hoped to attract for- U.S. news agency said. The investigation nomic justified level.” Mr. Khoroshkovsky sphere, should be created for a successful eign investment to fund the project. will determine whether the shipments said that it could take about six months to holiday,” the Ukrainian diplomat said. He According to estimates of the British from the three countries are “being create such a system and to agree on the added that the security issue includes the Company Mott MacDonald, which has ful- dumped and whether the dumped imports schedule of a rise in tariffs. “If we manage “security of teams, fans, and the prevention filled the preliminary feasibility study for have caused injury to the union industry,” to show that we are doing this work ... this of possible illegal visitors coming to the GTS modernization, in conjunction the European Commission, the 27-nation will be enough to have the opportunity to Ukraine.” The exercises will be aimed at with repairs of the main gas pipelines and EU trade authority in Brussels, said on continue the program,” he said. He suggest- learning about the advanced experience of compressor stations, the setting of new gas March 31. The commission has nine ed that Ukraine would manage to reach a countries that have hosted big sports meter aggregates, as well as a modern sys- months to decide whether to impose pro- compromise and resume funding before events in the last 10 years (Austria and tem of GTS control, reconstruction and visional anti-dumping duties for half a year the stand-by arrangement with the IMF Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, modernization will cost Ukrtransgas (that and EU governments have 15 months to expires or to extend it and get part of Germany, and the United States) or will is, Naftohaz and, consequently, the coun- decide whether to apply “definitive” levies tranches that were not previously dis- host international sports competitions try’s gas consumers) at least $4.8 billion for five years. It is also noted that the soon (Sweden, Finland and Britain), over a seven-year period. (Ukrinform) dumping inquiry stems from a February Newswires during his visit to London, Mr. according to the Ukrainian diplomat. The NATO seeks practical dialogue 16 complaint by a group on behalf of EU Khoroshkovskybursed. Іn an interview stated that with Kyiv Dow will Jones only issues regarding protection of the popula- manufacturers that account for more than be able to reach an agreement with the IMF tion from radiological, chemical and bacte- KYIV – The North Atlantic Treaty a quarter of the bloc’s production of weld- to resume the lending program after parlia- riological threats during big international Organization (NATO) is ready for practical ed tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, accord- mentary elections in October. (Ukrinform) sports competitions will also be consid- dialogue with Ukraine on missile defense ered. The exercises will be aimed at devel- and wants its potential to be used in full, oping a single strategy of cooperation according to the director of the NATO between Ukrainian services in case of Liaison Office in Ukraine, Marcin Koziel, emergencies and strengthening coordina- who spoke at a roundtable meeting in Kyiv tion among agencies. NATO is working on on March 30. “We are ready for practical emergency scenarios that will be worked dialogue with Ukraine in the sphere of mis- on during the exercises. (Interfax-Ukraine) sile defense, and we invite Kyiv for this dia- logue to be used in full,” he said. Mr. Koziel Tender for GTS modernization? also said that Ukraine belongs to the so- KYIV – A competition to choose compa- called “third states,” which the alliance nies that will participate in the moderniza- plans to involve “to spread transparency tion of the Ukrainian natural gas transit and confidence and improve the effective- system (GTS) may be announced in April, ness of missile defense measures.” Mr. the deputy chairman of the board of Koziel said Ukraine had received this sta- Naftohaz Ukrainy, Vadym Chuprun, tus, taking into account its geopolitical explained at a March 26 press conference. position, the existence of its own “know- “As soon as we adopt a final report of Mott how,” as well as “a sufficiently active pro- MacDonald on underground gas storages, a cess of Euro-Atlantic integration.” He said procedure will start for accepting bids for that the readiness of both Ukraine and participation in the modernization of the NATO to strengthen practical cooperation Ukrainian GTS,” Mr. Chuprun said. He spec- in various spheres was currently obvious. ified that approval of the company’s final “We know that the political dialogue report is expected in the first half of April. between Ukraine and NATO is a long tradi- European financial institutes will tion. And I am very pleased that in the con- announce and coordinate the tender hold- text of a new policy of non-alignment our ing, in particular, the European Bank for consultations with the Ukrainian authori- Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), ties have testified the readiness to

survival in the midst of the Soviet hell that Ukrainian film... was Ukraine in the early 1930s. According to Mr. Sanin, the person need (Continued from page 11) not necessarily be a full-time stage or film his father, a tractor salesman, in the early actor. He should have some performance 1930s. After his father is killed in a confron- experience, but it could be with a choir, a tation with the secret police, he is rescued dance group or even a rock band. by a blind Kobzar and becomes the Kobzar’s Mr. Sanin is also looking for a native guide (the “provodyr”), just as the English-speaking professional actor, age 30 Holodomor starts taking hold of the country. to 35, to play the supporting role of the Traveling with his Kobzar, he witnesses boy’s father. No Ukrainian is required for and lives through Stalin’s terrors and the this role. horrors of the Holodomor, culminating in Anyone interested in being considered the destruction of the Kobzars in 1934. It’s for these roles should get in touch with Mr. a fantastic action-packed story of intrigue, Sanin through the film’s website www.pro- betrayal, murder, love, coming of age and vodyr.com. 14 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

In addition, majoritarian candidates will Bohdan A. futey... have no access to the National Register of Voters. Only parties have that access. Self- (Continued from page 9) nominated candidates will be at a disad- such as the American Bar Association, help vantage. to ensure that proper procedures are fol- Lately, there has been a lot of talk con- lowed. Where are these neutral organiza- cerning possible sanctions by the European Union. If the election is determined to be tions in Ukraine? Furthermore, Ukraine’s fraudulent and in violation of international attempts to integrate itself into the larger standards, what can be expected? Since European community are extremely ham- 2000, sanctions against Ukraine have been pered by the taint of illegality. mentioned by the Parliamentary Assembly Additional attention should be given to of the Council of Europe (PACE), but have the attempts by the party in power to never decided or implemented. weaken the opposition. Actually it is dimin- In view of the trials of opposition lead- ished already because of the lack of unity ers and the negative publicity, and if the among the opposition. But an agreement elections are declared to be fraudulent, will was reached among several opposition definite sanctions be implemented? This is parties on January 22. Arseniy Yatsenyuk still questionable. GE Strategy, in analyzing called for parties that have a rating of at this problem, believes that the worst sanc- least 5 percent to run in these elections. tions that could be implemented against Vitali Klitschko also argued that district Ukraine would be the suspension of work- candidates should be selected by rating or ing activities in the various committees of popularity, and not by assignment of par- the PACE by the Ukrainian delegation. This ties. Furthermore, the opposition parties would affect just the activities of the dele- formed the Committee to Oppose gation and not Ukraine’s membership in Dictatorship to coordinate their efforts for the Council of Europe. the elections. With these recent events, Ukraine finds The law establishes 5 percent election itself at the brink, at the crossroads, as this threshold, an increase of 2 percent from conference indicates, with its image dimin- the previous law. This change adversely ished. Ukraine must ask itself, therefore, affects the chances of some smaller parties what exactly the Constitution means to the to be elected to Parliament unless united country. If the Constitution is what it says it with others. is – “the highest legal force” of the country The law provides for the manner of vot- and the guarantor of a democratic state – ing outside the polling places. A voter must then its words must be respected, its prin- submit an application to vote outside the ciples kept. If, however, the Constitution is polling place, along with a certificate of something that can be abandoned when health. The law establishes the manner of inconvenient, it is nothing more than naming a candidate by party or citizen. words on paper and will do little to ensure Election campaigning is to start 90 days the freedoms for which Ukrainians have before election day, the last Sunday in fought. Without those freedoms, Ukraine’s October 2012. The provision to vote future as a democratic nation, based on the against all has been eliminated. rule of law, is imperiled. Also, the law prohibits the participation Nevertheless, I remain confident in of blocks of parties in the election. Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

BORYS KOSAREV and UKRAINIAN PHOTOGRAPHY illustrated lecture (in Ukrainian w/English supplements) by Dr. Tetiana Pavlova Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012, at 7 P.M. Q&A, reception will follow the lecture Admission – $15 members and seniors – $10; students – $5

LAST CHANCE! Borys Kosarev: Modernist Kharkiv 1915-1931

Exhibition closes May 2, 2012 Photo by Borys Kosarev, 1929, on the set of O. Dovzhenko’s seminal film Earth

The Ukrainian Museum 222 East 6th Street New York, NY 10003 Tel: 212.228.0110 Fax: 212.228.1947 Museum hours: [email protected] Wednesday – Sunday www.ukrainianmuseum.org 11:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

128B No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 15 Congratulations, UNA scholarship and award recipients of 2011-2012!

$2,000 $1,000 $750 $500

Gregory Serba Thomas Maksymiuk Eryna Honchar Alexandra Teper UNA Branch 173 , Virginia Tech UNA Branch 397, Penn State University UNA Branch 264, Duquesne University UNA Branch 206, University of Massachusetts

men’s choir. He maintains his activity in the Ukrainian com- 17 juniors at $175 each and 22 seniors at $200 each. by Marijka Drich munity while at school via Penn State’s Ukrainian Society, The Ukrainian National Association sincerely congratu- PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The Ukrainian National Association’s and was elected the vice-president of the Federation of lates this year’s scholarship winners, wishing them further annual tradition of recognizing academic achievement and Ukrainian Students Organizations (SUSTA). Thomas hopes success and academic achievement in their lives. community activism among college students continues, to earn a master’s degree in criminal law and justice. The success of the UNA, as a fraternal insurance organi- with scholarships being awarded to those who are mem- The Joseph Wolk Scholarship, in the amount of $750, zation, depends on its members. Therefore, we put our bers of the UNA to help them achieve new heights. was awarded to Eryna Honchar, a senior at Duquesne hope in you, the younger generation. We call on you to For the 2011-2012 academic year, the UNA awarded University majoring in elementary education with a minor remain active members of the UNA, to subscribe to our $17,225 to scholarships and awards for 81 students. in child developmental psychology. Born in Ukraine, and publications Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, and to The highest award, the Joseph and Dora Galandiuk raised in the Lemko traditions of her adopted family, Eryna enroll your family members, friends and acquaintances, as Memorial Scholarship, in the amount of $2,000, was has been active in the Ukrainian community since child- well as to strengthen our large Ukrainian family. awarded to Gregory Serba. Gregory, a member of UNA hood, having danced with Slavjane, a Carpatho-Rusyn For more information about the Ukrainian National Branch 173, is a Dean’s List student studying industrial dance group and the Roma Pryma Bohachevsky Dance Association, its financial products and membership privi- and systems engineering at Virginia Tech, with a minor in Academy Workshop at Soyuzivka. She also attended the leges, readers can visit the UNA’s website, www.ukrainian- mathematics. He spent summers at Soyuzivka camps, and Kobzarska Sich bandura camp in Emlenton, Pa., sponsored nationalassociation.org, or call 800-253-9862. eventually became a camp counselor and tennis instructor. by the Ukrainian Bandurist Capella, and sings with the — Translated by Matthew Dubas He attends the annual Ukrainian Cultural Festivals at Ukrainian Cultural Trust Choir of Western Pennsylvania, as $200 Soyuzivka and assists with tennis tournaments. In 2010 he well as with her local church choir, where she teaches participated in the three-week program at the Ukrainian Sunday School. She is a member of UNA Branch 264. Catholic University in Lviv, where he studied the Ukrainian The scholarship of the Ukrainian National Home Corp. language and culture. Greg plans to earn a master’s degree of Blackstone, Mass., in the amount of $500, was awarded in systems engineering or engineering management. to Alexandra Teper, a psychology student with a minor in The Drs. Maria, Dmytro and Olha Jarosewycz Scholarship, nutrition at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. A in the amount of $1,000, was awarded to Thomas Maksymiuk, member of UNA Branch 206, Alexandra has been active a history and criminal law and justice double-major at Penn since childhood in her Ukrainian Orthodox Church, partici- State University. A member of UNA Branch 32, Thomas has pating in clothing and food drives for the needy in Ukraine. been especially active in the Ukrainian community, having She loves playing soccer and basketball. In the future, she completed his “matura” at the School of Ukrainian Studies in hopes to get her master’s degree in psychology. Jenkintown, Pa. He is a member of the Ukrainian American The remaining 77 students received regular awards Adrian Babiak Adam Belkairous Youth Association and a dancer with the Vesna and Voloshky based on their year of study. The breakdown of the awards: UNA Branch 8 UNA Branch 452 Ukrainian dance ensembles, and sings with the Prometheus 24 freshmen at $125 each, 14 sophomores at $150 each, University of Maryland DePaul University

$200

Natalie Belkairous Michael Bilica Pavlo Demczur Michael Demyan Benjamin Fil Victor Hanas UNA Branch 452 UNA Branch 13 UNA Branch 86 UNA Branch 777 UNA Branch 13 UNA Branch 327 Indiana University University of Albany Pennsylvania State University Buffalo University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Towson University $200

Lydia Hryshchyshyn Daniel Kopystanski Alexandra Kozak Andrew Lasij Maria Lawrin Marysa Milinichik UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 360 UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 371 UNA Branch 175 UNA Branch 147 Drexel University Ithaca College Temple University Muhlenberg College Oakland University Juniata College 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

$200

Nicholas Murskyj Constantine Noukas Michael Nemeth Anna Prusinowski Mary Reft Michelle Szpara UNA Branch 94 UNA Branch 28 UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 39 UNA Branch 120 UNA Branch 22 University of Michigan University of Houston Gettysburg College Syracuse University Ohio State University University of Illinois $200 $175

Christine Uzdejczyk Andrew Zwarych Mark Babiak Adrianna Demjanczuk Dianna Gardner Paul Hadzewycz UNA Branch 8 UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 8 UNA Branch 240 UNA Branch 368 UNA Branch 287 Bentley University Drexel University University of Maryland Art Institute of Pittsburgh Florida State University Lafayette College

$175

Nicole Honig Nicholas Kendsersky Stephanie Kozak Joseph Kozak Lydia Kowinko Crystal Kusma UNA Branch 360 UNA Branch 53 UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 59 UNA Branch 241 University of Central Florida Pennsylvania State University St. Joseph University University of Pittsburgh University of Connecticut Rhode Island College $175

Alexandra Kuzyszyn Justina Michel Justyn Pyz Andrew Salamak Daniel Stryhanyn Dennis Torielli UNA Branch 70 UNA Branch 42 UNA Branch 133 UNA Branch 242 UNA Branch 283 UNA Branch 450 Rutgers University Rutgers University New Jersey Institute of Technology Pennsylvania College of Technology Bethany University Drew University $175 $150

Alena Volkava Yuri Balaban Joseph Belkairous Cassidy Conroy Christopher Demczar Hillary Demyan UNA Branch 269 UNA Branch 401 UNA Branch 452 UNA Branch 242 UNA Branch 13 UNA Branch 777 Centenary College University of Toronto DePaul University Wilkes University Rochester Institute of Technology Erie Community College $150

Angela DeSantis Ivanka Farrell Taissa Hamulak Julianna Hanas Stephen Hryshchyshyn Marianna Kozak UNA Branch 230 UNA Branch 269 UNA Branch 97 UNA Branch 327 UNA Branch 83 UNA Branch 83 Case Western Reserve University George Washington University Rutgers University Towson University Texas A & M University New York University No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 17

$150 $125

Orest Michel Daniel Reft Nicholas Spotts Andriy Balaban Alexander Kobryn Grace-Lynn Kobryn UNA Branch 42 UNA Branch 120 UNA Branch 242 UNA Branch 401 UNA Branch 130 UNA Branch 130 New Jersey Institute of Technology Ohio University Bloomsburg University York University Mercy College State University of New York $125

Megan Ben Laryssa Boyko Alexander Domanski Sarah Henderson Andrea B. Hetmansky Gregory Hoobchaak UNA Branch 230 UNA Branch 161 UNA Branch 170 UNA Branch 112 UNA Branch 238 UNA Branch 414 Heidelberg University Pepperdine University New York University Carson-Newman College St. Francis University Christopher Newport University $125

Katherine Kopystanski Roman Krywulych Andrew Kuchta Alexandra Lodynsky Taras Maksymovych Ivanna Murskyj UNA Branch 360 UNA Branch 266 UNA Branch 368 UNA Branch 414 UNA Branch 399 UNA Branch 94 Ithaca University Lehigh University University of Texas St. John’s University Illinois State University University of Michigan $125

Yaroslaw Myshchuk Erin Marie Niedzwiecki Michael Page UNA Branch 13 UNA Branch 372 UNA Branch 271 State University of New York Rowan University Corning Community College $125

Nadiya Pavlishyn Maria Spotts Katheryna Szewczyk UNA Branch 130 UNA Branch 242 UNA Branch 8 Stony Brook University Bloomsburg University State University of New York $125

Andriy Vasiyschouk Paul Wiedefeld Sofia Zaharchuk UNA Branch 269 UNA Branch 320 UNA Branch 162 New Jersey Institute of Technology University of Maryland Drexel University 18 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16 No. 16 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 19

April 17 Lecture by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, “Icons from Kyiv April 22 International Music Festival, Ukrainian Educational and Washington Museums Looted by Nazi Germany,” Shevchenko Jenkintown, PA Cultural Center, 215-663-1166 Scientific Society, Embassy of Ukraine, 240-205-1889 or [email protected] April 23 Symposium, “Independent Ukraine 1991-2011: Change and Cambridge, MA Continuity in Ukraine’s Foreign Policy,” Harvard April 17 Lecture by Timothy Snyder, “Bloodlands: Europe Between University, 617-495-4053 or [email protected] Union, NJ Hitler and Stalin,” Kean University, 908-737-0387 or [email protected] April 24 Panel discussion, “Why Is It So Difficult to Define Union, NJ Genocide,” Kean University, 908-737-0387 or April 19 Lecture by Norman M. Naimark, “The Ukrainian Famine in [email protected] Cambridge, MA the History of Genocide,” Harvard University, April 25 35th anniversary reception, Ukrainian National Information 617-495-4053 Washington Service, Rayburn House Office Building, 202-547-0018 April 19 Presentation by Robert Enright, “A Critic’s Perspective: April 25-26 “Ukrainian Days” advocacy event, Ukrainian National Hamilton, ON Kurelek, A Singular Artist Among Many,” Art Gallery of Washington Information Service, 202-547-0018 or [email protected] Hamilton, www.artgalleryofhamilton.com or 905-527-6610 April 25 Art exhibit, “Code of Light,” featuring works by Galyna - May 6 Moskvitina, Arcane Art Foundation, Alexandre Gertsman April 20-28 Art exhibit, “Etching a Lifestyle: The Life and Work of New York Contemporary Art Gallery, www.galynamoskvitina.com Pottsville, PA Nicholas Bervinchak,” Schuylkill County Historical or 646-344-1325 Society, www.schuykillhistory.org April 26 Presentation by Edward Kasinec, “Ukrainian Treasures April 21 Performance, Duquesne University Tamburitzans, Saucon New York into Tractors: The Fate of the Kyivan Lavra’s Sacred Art,” Hellertown, PA Valley High School, 877-826-6437 or Columbia University, 212-854-4697 or www.duq.edu/tamburitzans [email protected] April 21 Lecture by Mike Buryk, “Etching a Lifestyle: The Life and April 27 Lecture by Tetiana Pavlova, “Borys Kosarev and Ukrainian Pottsville, PA Work of Nicholas Bervinchak,” Schuylkill County New York Photography,” The Ukrainian Museum, 212-228-0110 or Historical Society, www.schuykillhistory.org [email protected] April 21 Lecture by Lubomyr Hajda, “Ivan Mazepa in the Realms April 27 Concert, “Unforgettable Kvitka,” Ukrainian National New York of Literature: Old Enigmas and New Discoveries,” Chicago Museum, 312-421-8020 or Shevchenko Scientific Society, 212-254-5130 [email protected]

April 22 65th anniversary of Akcja Wisla commemorative program, April 27 Performance, “Dream Bridge,” Yara Arts Group, La MaMa Whippany, NJ Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey, - May 13 Experimental Theater, 212-475-7710 or www.lamama.org 973-585-7175 or [email protected] New York

April 22 Family Concert with Ensemble ACJW, a collaboration Entries in “Out and About” are listed free of charge. Priority is given to events New York between Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School and the Weill advertised in The Ukrainian Weekly. However, we also welcome submissions Music Institute, Ukrainian Institute of America, from all our readers. Items will be published at the discretion of the editors 212-288-8660 and as space allows. Please send e-mail to [email protected]. 20 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012 No. 16

ATTENTION, PREVIEW OF EVENTS Wednesday, April 17, Ninth and 10th streets), at 5 p.m. For additional ulty from the university’s master’s program in information call 212-254-5130. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Drs. Ruth FESTIVAL UNION, N.J.: Timothy Snyder, professor of Griffith (on Ukraine), Sue Gronewold (on history at Yale University and author of Sunday, April 22 Asia), Dennis Klein (on Europe) and Jay ORGANIZERS! “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and WHIPPANY, N.J.: The 65th anniversary of Spaulding (on Africa). The event is open to the Stalin,” will explore the greatest moral and “Akcja Wisla” will be commemorated at the public and will take place in the STEM build- demographic catastrophe in the history of To have your festival listed Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New ing, sixth floor. Kean University is located at the West – the mass murder of some 14 in “A Ukrainian Summer,” Jersey, 60 N. Jefferson Road. The main speaker 1000 Morris Ave. For more information call million people between Berlin and Moscow our special issue to be pub- will be Ivan Burtyk, and the artistic program Dr. Griffith, 908-737-0387. in the years 1933-1945 – in a presentation will present the Whippany Vocal Ensemble lished on May 6, send infor- at Kean University beginning at 7:30 p.m. under the direction of Oksana Telepko, as well Friday, April 27-Sunday, May 13 Two hours of professional development as presentations by the youth of the Ukrainian NEW YORK: Yara Arts Group presents “Dream mation on date, venue and credit are available for teachers. The talk, in American Youth Association and Plast Bridge,” an original, experimental theater whom to contact for more Kean Hall 127, will follow an information Ukrainian Scouting Organization. This event is piece based on Ukrainian poetry by Oleh session on Kean’s graduate program in information (for example: organized by the Morris County Branch of the Lysheha. The production, created by Virlana Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Kean Hall Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Tkacz, features music by electronic music July 13-15, Ukrainian Cultur- 110). For more information contact Dr. Branch 5 of the Organization in Defense of composer Alla Zahaykevych from Kyiv. Our Ruth Griffith, 908-737-0387 or rgriffit@ al Festival, Soyuzivka Heri- Lemko Western Ukraine and Branch 1 of the dreams can bring to light the mystery which kean.edu. tage Center, Kerhonkson, Organization for Defense of Four Freedoms swirls silently inside. At night, our brains, freed NY, 845-626-5641 or www. Saturday, April 21 for Ukraine. For more information e-mail of their burdens, soar like music. Space turns [email protected]. fluid, as we swim through the universe and soyuzivka.com) to: NEW YORK: The Shevchenko Scientific Society Tuesday, April 24 through time. Tickets are $18; $13 for students [email protected]. invites all to a lecture by Dr. Lubomyr Hajda and seniors. La MaMa Experimental Theater is (Harvard University) titled “Ivan Mazepa in the UNION, N.J.: At 11 a.m. to noon, a Kean located at 74 E. Fourth St. Show times are Realm of Literature: Old Enigmas and New University Research Day interdisciplinary Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m. and DEADLINE for submissions Discoveries.” The lecture will take place at the panel will focus on “Why Is It So Difficult to Sunday, 2:30 p.m. For more information call to be included in our festival society’s building, 63 Fourth Ave. (between Define Genocide?” The panel will feature fac- 212-475-7710 or visit www.lamama.org. listing: APRIL 16.