The Ukrainian Weekly 2013, No.3
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www.ukrweekly.com Part 2 of THE YEAR IN REVIEW pages 5-12 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXI No. 3 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013 $1/$2 in Ukraine New chair of Ukraine’s National Bank Mykhailo Horyn dies at 82 is another friend of the “family” Leading rights activist was a founder of Rukh Yanukovych vowed a “government of pro- by Zenon Zawada PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Mykhailo Horyn, Special to The Ukrainian Weekly fessionals” to replace what he alleged was an incompetent government under former a leading Ukrainian dissident during KYIV – The family business empire of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, now the Soviet era and a human rights Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych imprisoned. That promise drew millions of activist who was a member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group and a retained its control of Ukraine’s central voters to cast their ballots for Mr. founder of Rukh, the Popular bank, critics said, when Parliament Yanukovych. Movement of Ukraine, died in the approved on January 11 the nomination of Yet Mr. Sorkin didn’t have any formal early morning hours of January 13 Ihor Sorkin, 45, as chair of the National financial education until 10 years after his after a serious illness. He was 82. Bank of Ukraine (NBU). first banking appointment, earning a mas- A Ukrainian patriot who worked Mr. Sorkin has long ties to Donbas busi- ter’s degree in banking from Donetsk tirelessly for freedom and human and ness clans, having earned his first banking National University in 2006. He’s managing national rights, he was twice impris- job at the National Bank’s Donetsk branch the nation’s finances little more than six oned by Soviet authorities for his in 1996. His wife, Angela, serves as the dep- years later. “anti-Soviet” activity. uty board chairman of UkrBiznesBank, “The government’s professionalism He was the initiator and coordina- which is owned by Oleksander should be determined by three criteria: tor of the historic 300-mile human Yanukovych, the elder son of President growth in the population’s income, con- chain that united the eastern and Viktor Yanukovych. sumer price dynamics and the population’s western parts of Ukraine from Kyiv to The nation’s financial community raised employment rate,” Mr. Novak said. “At the Lviv on January 21, 1990. Between Roma Hadzewycz concerns that President Yanukovych would moment, all these criteria are deteriorat- 250,000 and 500,000 people were Mykhailo Horyn in August 1990. continue to use the National Bank of ing, and therefore there’s no reason to con- part of that chain, waving Ukrainian Ukraine to further his own business inter- sider the Ukrainian government as profes- blue-and-yellow flags and banners honorary citizen of the city. Burial was ests at the expense of national interests, as sional.” proclaiming, “For a united, indepen- at the Lychakiv Cemetery. Mr. Sorkin’s predecessor Serhiy Arbuzov, Mr. Sorkin has slightly more experience dent Ukraine.” The action commemo- Mykhailo Horyn was born on June 36, is widely accused of doing. in banking than the 36-year-old Mr. rated both the January 22, 1918, proc- 17, 1930, in the village of Kniselo, “Key government posts have been given Arbuzov, whose banking ideas include slap- lamation of Ukrainian independence today’s Lviv Oblast, where his father, to people who have proven their personal ping a 15 percent tax on all foreign curren- and the act of re-unification of Mykola, headed the Prosvita devotion to the president’s family,” said cy purchases in cash. After initial outrage, Ukrainian lands one year later. (Enlightenment) Society and the local Andriy Novak, chair of the Committee of Mr. Arbuzov has reduced his proposed tax Mr. Horyn’s funeral was held in Lviv branch of the Organization of Economists of Ukraine in Kyiv. “Now we to 10 percent, but it has yet to be approved on January 15, officially proclaimed a Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), for can expect all the country’s economic by Parliament. day of mourning in the city. Flags bore which he was repressed by both the events to be tied up for the benefit of one “This is complete Soviet thinking,” wrote ribbons of mourning that day as Lviv Polish and the Soviet authorities. leader, who has taken control of all finan- Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the bid farewell, not only to a rights advo- cial and economic streams.” cate known worldwide, but also to an (Continued on page 2) During his presidential campaign, Mr. (Continued on page 13) Homecoming: Bishop Borys Gudziak visits his parish in Syracuse by Patricia A. Burak SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Months of planning had gone into the preparation for this historic homecoming. From the moment last summer that the pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Syracuse, N.Y., Father Mykhaylo Dosyak, learned that our own Father Borys Gudziak was to be ordained a bishop, planning had begun. Invitations and tickets had been prepared, reservations had been made, photos had been secured from his mother, from the Ukrainian Catholic University and from friends. Volunteer videographers and photographers had been confirmed. Parishioners gladly accepted roles in the events of the day. Ukrainian Catholics from surrounding Central New York communities had been invited. Bouquets were prepared by parish florist, Julie Hulchanski; a korovai was lovingly baked by Olga Serafy. The parish of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Syracuse was ready to receive its own spiritual son, Bishop Borys Gudziak, under its roof for the celebra- tion of his “Premetsia,” his first pontifical liturgy, in his Members of Plast join with fellow “Plastun,” Bishop Borys Gudziak after presenting him with a Plast T-shirt (which he immediately donned) for a memorable singing of “Shchedryk.” (Continued on page 17) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2013 No. 3 Kyiv activists occupy business center of the Constitutional Assembly, Ihor Kohut, during a roundtable at Ukrinform on KYIV – About 20 activists from Ukraine’s “Constitutional Reform: New Realities.” Mr. nationalist Svoboda party on January 11 Kohut said, “Now there is one perspective – occupied a business center in Kyiv, calling the openness of the Constitutional Assembly for the demands of miners in the eastern to an outside view. Issues discussed at Luhansk region to be met. The DTEK Corp. roundtables should be not something paral- owns the Chervonyi Partyzan (Red lel, but should join in the process of debate Guerrilla) coal mine in Luhansk, where the and discussion at the assembly meeting.” At miners work, and it has offices in the busi- the same time, according to the expert, the ness center. Miners and union activists have Constitutional Assembly is not playing its been protesting in Luhansk against planned full role, in part because not all the parlia- layoffs. On January 10 they took over the mentary political parties are represented in mine director’s office and demanded a it, and because of the unclear definition of meeting with company leaders. They said who should make changes to the Constitut- they wanted the mine owners to reverse ion. “The Constitutional Assembly should be plans to reduce the workforce in order to a kind of expert panel, and the Verkhovna Mykhailo Horyn and Vyacheslav Chornovil listen to Radio Liberty. (Undated photo decrease coal production. Police and securi- Rada should undertake the responsibility from the archives of Marichka Halaburda Czyhryn.) ty officers forced the miners and union for the adoption of the text of the activists to leave the director’s office on to give testimony in the case of fellow Constitution,” Mr. Kohut said. (Ukrinform) January 11. (RFE/RL Ukrainian Service) Mykhailo Horyn... rights activist Ivan Kandyba. This time he Rada creates 29 committees was sentenced to 10 years of special- Yanukovych on new Constitution (Continued from page 1) regime imprisonment followed by five KYIV – The Verkhovna Rada on December KYIV – In preparing amendments to the years of exile. 25, 2012, adopted a resolution on the cre- In December 1944 Mykhailo and his Constitution of Ukraine, priority should be Mr. Horyn was amnestied in 1987, as ation of 29 parliamentary committees and mother, Stefania, were deported by Soviet given to the expansion of opportunities for part of the “perebudova” (perestroika) pro- the Special Verification Commission on authorities to Siberia, but they managed citizens to influence the authorities’ deci- cesses then under way, and was “rehabili- Privatization. The resolution was supported to escape while en route. Afterwards, they sions, President Viktor Yanukovych said at tated” in 1990. In July 1987 Messrs. by 339 national deputies. The resolution managed to avoid joining a collective a meeting of the Council of Regions on Chornovil and Horyn resumed publication also approves the chairmen and the num- farm and settled in Khodoriv, Lviv Oblast, December 25, 2012. “Priority should be (in typewritten format) of the Ukrainian ber of members of the committees and the where Mykhailo worked at a local factory given to enlargement of citizens’ opportuni- Herald, which then became the publica- commission. The apppointments are as fol- and graduated from secondary school in ties to influence the government, in particu- tion of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. lows: Agrarian Policy and Land Relations, 1949. In 1949-1955 Mr. Horyn studied lar, their right to participate in the decision- All the while, Soviet officials had their Hryhoriy Kaletnyk (Party of Regions of logic and philosophy at Lviv University. At making of local government bodies,” Mr. eyes on Mr. Horyn, and he was repeated- Ukraine, PRU); Fight against Organized the same time he maintained contacts Yanukovych said.