INSIDE: • Harvard seminar recognizes increased interest in Ukraine — page 3. • Tips for tourists traveling to Ukraine — page 1 1. • Photo review of Ukraine's second year of independence - centerfold. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association rainianWee Vol. LXI No. 34 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 1993 SOcente John Demjanjuk remains in Israel Democrats unite to demand as court considers more petitions early elections for Parliament Extremists make death threats was quoted as saying before fainting. by Marta Kolomayets legislative body. This deprives you of An activist of the radical Kach party, Kyyiv Press Bureau the moral right to continue acting on JERSEY CITY, N.J.— John Baruch Marzel, was seen on CNN News behalf of the people," said the statement. Demjanjuk remains in his cell at Ayalon KYYIV — In reaction to the cancella­ saying: "If Demjanjuk is released, we'll "The Supreme Council, in fact, Prison although, a three-judge panel of tion of the national referendum on find a way to kill him in a short time." deceived us," said Mykola Zarytsky, the Israeli Supreme Court on Monday, August 9, democratic forces There were reports of other death threats chairman of the secretariat of New Wednesday, August 18, rejected appeals here have called on Ukraine's as well. CNN reported: "Some Jewish Ukraine and a leader of the Social for a new war crimes trial and ordered Parliament to schedule early elections. extremists have threatened to kill Democratic Party of Ukraine. "When the the former U.S. citizen deported. Eighteen political parties and democ­ Demjanjuk if he is set free." Parliament broke for summer recess, it ratic movements, among them Rukh, the The Supreme Court decision rejected knew very well that it was not going to be Independent Trade Union of Miners of 10 petitions demanding that Mr. Another delay back on time to prepare for the September Ukraine, the Ukrainian Republican Demjanjuk be tried for his alleged role at As The Weekly was going to press, 26 referendum," he concluded. other Nazi camps, including Sobibor. Party, the Union of Officers of Ukraine Israeli Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Reuters reported that Supreme Court and Yednannia, the trade union of small Some political leaders, among them announced a 15-day delay in issuing Justice Gabriel Bach said, "Each one of and medium-sized businesses, issued a Vitally Kononov, chairman of the Green his decision on whether John the three judges in his own way reached statement on Friday, August 13, criticiz­ Party of Ukraine, insist that the referen­ Demjanjuk should be tried on other the same conclusion that there is no ing the Supreme Council of Ukraine and dum option is a path that leads nowhere. war crimes charges. choice but to reject the petitions in this asking the parliamentarians to "give up "Take the situation in Russia a few case." their mandates by the beginning of next months ago; they called for a referendum The Supreme Court gave petitioners The ruling angered many observers year at the latest." and today the two branches of power another chance to seek a new trial for the gathered in the courtroom to hear the The five-paragraph statement, read at find themselves at loggerheads, in con­ man acquitted on July 29 of being "Ivan decision. Reuters reported that Yizrael the Friday afternoon press conference stant conflict," he said. the Terrible" of the Treblinka death Yehezkeli, the Holocaust survivor who organized by representatives of the par­ The August 13 statement admonished camp. On Friday, August 20, Chief had thrown acid into the face of Mr. ties, groups and movements, asked that the Parliament: "You, the people's Justice Meir Shamgar is to hear a request Demjanjuk's lawyer, Yoram Sheftel, left the legislators call parliamentary elec­ deputies of Ukraine, can avoid the fate for a second opinion on whether Mr. the courtroom with his shirt torn as a tions in accordance with a new election of becoming instigators of a social Demjanjuk should stand trial on other sign of mourning. "I want to die," he law which "must be adopted by this explosion only by passing a decision to charges. Justice Shamgar will decide September." revoke your own mandate...." whether the petitioners' request will be Deputies of the National Council heard by a larger panel of five Supreme "The Parliament has failed to comply (Narodna Rada), the Parliament's democ- Court justices. with its own resolution on a national poll on electoral confidence in the highest (Continued on page 22) Floods cause rise Therefore, although eight Supreme Court judges — the five who acquitted in radiation levels him and the three who ruled he should Anniversary interview not be tried on other charges — have WASHINGTON — The Ukrainian already said Mr. Demjanjuk should be set government through its U.S. Embassy on free, he remains in his prison cell with Harvard's Prof. Szporluk: August 12 released a plea for humanitar­ his bags packed, as they have been since ian aid for the flood-inundated northern the day of his acquittal three weeks ago. Rivne region of Ukraine. Six people Contacted by The Weekly via tele­ Ukraine in international arena have died and almost 300,000 people phone, Ed Nishnic, family spokesman In connection with the observance deserves full credit for having kept have been left without basic means of and a son-in-law of Mr. Demjanjuk, of the second anniversary of Ukraine out of conflicts, within, on its subsistence in an area that has already said, "This has now gone way beyond Ukraine's declaration of indepen­ borders, or beyond. suffered extensively as a result of the the ridiculous, this is madness. The dence, The Ukrainian Weekly contact­ This has to be kept in mind, partic­ Chornobyl nuclear accident of 1986. flames of hatred are being fanned and ed, as it had last year, Dr. Roman ularly since there are forces in Russia Ukraine government officials estimate they are allowing this farce to continue." Szporluk, the Mykhailo Hrushevsky who would very much like to involve the flood damage at $90 million (U.S.) "I hope this Friday's hearing is the Professor of Ukrainian History at Ukraine in some crisis of this sort Five days of continuous heavy rains last," he said, noting that Justice Harvard University and a research There were attempts to create conflict have left submerged more than 750,000 Shamgar has three options: to reject the associate of the Hansard Ukrainian in the Crimea and the Trans-Dniester acres of arable land and pastures, ruining petitioners' request; to state that he will Research Institute, to provide an region, but at present Ukraine has nearly 4,500 houses and 700 industrial take time to consider it; or to rule that a appreciation of the .new state's managed to steer clear of them. facilities. The embassy also said that five-judge panel will look into the mat­ progress in the international arena. The primary benefit of indepen­ hundreds of amelioration and water sup­ ter. The petitioners include Nazi hunters. The interview was conducted by dence for Ukraine has been that it ply stations, bridges, dams, electric main Holocaust survivors and "Jews of the Andrij Wynnyckyj. need not be involved at all about diffi­ lines and roads have been swept away by world," Mr. Nishnic explained. culties on Russia's border with China, the rains. Officials warned that water Mr. Nishnic cited death threats direct­ On the second year of independence, the Kurile Islands issue, with the levels could rise again this week. ed at his father-in-law, including the fighting in Tajikistan, or even The flooding has also raised radiation words of Mr. Marzel and others. He char­ Ukraine's most notable achieve­ Georgia* Ukraine no longer has an levels around Kyyiv and in northern acterized the situation as "a band of thugs ment of the past year is tl^at it ha^ obligation to send its personnel there, Ukraine, environmental officials said in trying to take revenge on somebody." managed to avoid getting entangled in which would place a strain on its peo­ comments published by Reuters on "The problem is people acting like military actions akin to those we are ple and resources. August 17. Valentina Okipna, head of lunatics, threatening to kill him (Mr. now witnessing in Central Asia, the However, a significant threat per­ the Kyyiv region ecological control Demjanjuk). It's like the Twilight Zone' Caucasus and the former Yugoslavia. sists, in the guise of Russian efforts to department, told the Kievskiye over here," Mr. Nishnic continued. "The The importance of this should be involve Ukraine in some kind of Vedomosti that high water had raised U.S. Justice Department put us in this sit­ realized both in the West and in major economic union, such as that levels of background radiation from 19 uation, knowing that Mr. Demjanjuk was Ukraine itself. Whatever faults and recendy proposed by Russia's prime to 24 curies per week in the Dnipro not Tvan." They put us in harm's way." mistakes one finds in the country's . minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin. River. The concentration of strontium-90 When questioned about security, Mr. policy over the past year, and there are many, the Ukrainian leadership {Continued on pdge 4) (Continued on page 23) (Continued on page 17) THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 22,1993 No. 34 ANALYSIS Newsbriefs Envimnmental problems in Ukraine on Ukraine by Dr. David R. Marples for the environment. Certainly no offi­ cial records were kept until that year. PARTI Even in the period 1973-1987, the No Ukrainian-Russian nuke accord rockets are not covered by START I.