І HCL Г^"^^^'^^^^ ^У ^^^ Ukrainian National Association Inc.. a fraternal non-profit associitiori UbainianWeekl Vol. LVJ! No. 27 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 2, 1989 50 cents Chornovil accuses Shcherbytsky Tour of Chornobyl plant enmom of crimes against Ukrainian people provides insight into 1986 tragedy JERSEY CITY, NJ. - During his from a prison cell in Zolochiv, Lviv On June 9-18, Dr. David Marples, by Dr. David R. Marples IS^day incarceration last month, Ukrai­ region, was released by the UHU's press author of two books on the Chornobyl nian Helsinki Union activist and Ukrai­ service after Mr. Chornovil's release nuclear accident, visited the Chornobyl I have returned from a most re­ nian Herald editor Vyacheslav Chorno­ from prison on June 6. He was arrested area and Kiev, courtesy of the Ukrai­ markable journey to Ukraine. My vil penned a stingmg open letter to on May 21 on charges of "petty hooli­ nian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In intention at the outset was to visit Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, accusing the ganism" for participating in an April 26 addition to holding interviews with Chornobyl; something that I had been first secretary of the Communist Party Chornobyl demonstration. leaders of the Kombinat production granted permission to do, and to exa­ of Ukraine of "criminal" deeds against Titled "Don't try the people's pa­ association based at Chornobyl, he mine other areas of Ukrainian life as far the Ukrainian people, and called for his tience: an open letter to V. Shcherbyt­ interviewed the plant director, Mikhail as possible. I did much more than that. immediate resignation. sky," the letter is a strong condemnation Umanets, and visited the control room In 1989, of course, there are regular The letter, dated June 1 and written by the longtime political prisoner for a of ChornobyVs No. 2 reactor. contacts between Soviet and Western long list of "unforgivable sins against Later he visited the experimental academics. It is not unusual to find the Ukrainian people," Ukrainian hothouse in Prypiat and the abandoned articles by or about familiar Ukrai- culture and history, and the republic's city itself During the same visit. Dr. nianists in some of the Soviet press. ecology that rest on Mr. Shcherbytsky's Maples was a guest at the Center for What is unusual is for the Soviet "heavy conscience." Radiation Medicine in Kiev, where authorities to allow a Westerner, such Beginning with the question of lan­ those who suffered high levels of irra­ as myself, who has specialized on guage, culture and history, without diation after the Chornobyl accident are Ukraine and worked for Radio Liberty, which, Mr. Chornovil wrote, "a na­ being monitored. not merely to go to the Chornobyl nu­ tion...is not a nation, but only an He also held numerous interviews clear power station, but to peruse at will amorphous mass, ready for all kinds of with newspaper editors and social- and photograph the premises of the experiments," the author accuses the cultural groups, including with Litera- Center for Radiation Medicine in Kiev, Ukrainian party leader of destroying turna Ukraina, Radio Kiev, Vechirniy event to go into rooms where sick fire­ "everything Ukrainian in Ukraine." Kiev, the Shevchenko Ukrainian Lan­ men are still recuperating. "Already at the beginning of your guage Society and Zelenyi Svit. The But rather than digress, I will begin rule, you demonstratively switched over following is a four-part series about this this tale chronologically. to the Russian language for communi­ unique visit to Ukraine. (Continued on page 12) cating with the Ukrainian people and fully converted it (for use) by the party, state and economic apparatus all pver Ukraine, even in Galicia. "This terrible devastation, which during the years of your rule was inflicted upon the Ukrainian school system, higher education, science, culture, the full spiritual potential: of our large nation, is addressed often enough today from rostrums and by the official press." However, "these have blamed only the nameless forces of stagnation, afraid to point their fingers in the direction of the Chekist cabinet, in which, for some reason, you have retained your seat. They are afraid to name the chief inspirer of this witch hunt, which you unleashed as soon as you obtained from dear Leonid Ilyich the title of Kievan prince." In addition to this, "you picked up for yourself a worthy team of collabora­ tors. One shouM mention at least one soch odious figure, the one sent by Ш Blue end yellow Hag of free \ Moscow to replace his more liberal Ukraine waves in the sfreefs of Lviv: \ predecessor, the chief KGB agent of a photo report — centerfold. the republic Vitaliy Fedorchuk, well- Ш Ukraine's party boss, Volodymyr \ known master of terror and provoca­ Shcherbytsky, is interviewed by the \ tion, who today, due to illegal efforts, Associated Press — page 2. enjoys a personal pension in a luxurious ei Theater director Les Taniuk from і Moscow apartment. It is you who Ukraine and colleagues form lnter- I brought him to the office of the CPU Central Committee and made this notional Kurbas Society — page 2. \ Ukrainian Beria of the 1970s your ^ Soyuzivka gears up for summer \ closest companion. season — page 5. "Just how many people's fates have 1^ О rest Deychakiwsky, U.S. \ the two of you mangled! You put delegation member, speaks about hundreds of Ukrainian patriots through Paris Conference on the Human prisons, camps and exile. You hurled Dimension — page 8. into the hell of closed special psychiatric David Marpks (left) withYuriy Rissovanny, leading engineer of Kombinat pro­ (Continued on page 11) duction association, with Chornobyl's damaged reactor No. 4 In the backgroundo THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 2, 1989 No. 27 A GLIMPSE OF SOVIET REALITY GLASNOST DIARY: Ukrainian party boss Shcherbytsky recording changes in the USSR interviewed by AP correspondent A resfricted screening against those... who cleared up after the accident," he said. by Dr. Roman Solchanyk (rather than as a candidate from the party) was taken in accordance with Nikolai Mashchenko, a Soviet film Mr. Mashchenko's film was shown to Ukrainian Communist Party leader the recommendations of the CPSU director, has complained to General a restricted audience in October 1988, Voiodymyr Shc.ierbytsky, responding Politburo announced by Mr. Gorba­ Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that but since then has been refused permis­ to questions froci an Associated Press chev at the January plenum of the authorities ordered cuts in a film he sion for a wider screening unless the cuts correspondent, says that he supported CPSU Central Committee - i.e., that made about the 1986 Chornobyl nu­ were made, according to the director. Mikhail Gorbachev's election as general Politburo members and candidates clear disaster, Reuters reported recently. 'it is criminal in the fourth year of secretary of the Communist Party of the based outside of Moscow as well as In an interview with the newspaper perestroika to create zones of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in March 1985. other republican party leaders should Sovietskaya Kultura, Mr. Mashchenko Chornobyl tragedy closed to criticism," Asked whether he agreed entirely with agree to stand in the districts if they said that the Atomic Energy and Health he said. He also added that another Mr. Gorbachev's program and if there have been put forth as candidates. ministries objected to sequences detail­ director was already making a film on were any differences between the two, The question of Chornobyl, specifi­ ing the doses of radiation suffered by the disaster. (Voiodymyr Shevchenko Mr. Shcherbytsky avoided a direct cally the dearth of information on the those who cleared up after the accident directed a film, about the tragedy, response, saying instead that the policy consequences of the nuclear accident, at the nuclear plant. "Chornobyl: A Chronicle of Difficult of perestroika is the product of "the was also raised by the Associated Press. "They said the showing of corpses Weeks." He died in March 1987. collective wisdom of the party''and that Mr. Shcherbytsky again disagreed, and people with burns was aimed to To date, Mr. Mashchenko has gotten "there have not been and are no. dis­ maintaining that if the Ukrainian media turn public opinion not only against the no response to his complaint addressed agreements on questions of principle" was to be blamed for anything in this development of nuclear power but also to the Kremlin. among members of the Politburo and regard it would have to be for its Central Committee during "creative "somewhat superficial" coverage of the discussions" of policy. Chornobyl issue. Now, he said, this has First Secretary Shcherbytsky's an­ changed. He referred to various articles New stats on Ukraine's population and interviews that have appeared in the swers were forwarded to the Associated Ukraine still occupies the No. 2 Tadzhikistan, with a 34 percent rise, press, saying: "Well, judging by the Press on April 12 and the interview has spot among Soviet republics in terms followed by Uzbekistan with 29 question, you are not familiar with now been published in Pravda Ukrainy. of population, with 51.7 million percent, Turkmenia with 28 percent them." It is prefaced by a statement from the people, but its numbers have in­ and Kirghizia with a 22 percent Ukrainian party chief, where he cha­ Queried about the mass graves at creased by only 4 percent since 1979, increase. racterizes some of the correspondent's Bykivnia near Kiev, Mr. Shcherbytsky according to recently released data A/erbaidzhan, the only predo­ questions as "somewhat one-sided and replied that the investigation of the furnished by the Soviet State Com­ minantly Mosk Ti republic in the even biased." government commission proved that mittee on Statistics.