The Ukrainian Weekly 2014, No.22

www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: l Expert says “tide has turned a bit” for Ukraine – page 3 l More on the UNA’s 38th Regular Convention – pages 4-5 l Chicago premiere of composition honoring Shevchenko – page 11 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXII No. 22 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2014 $2.00 Western leaders congratulate Ukraine Poroshenko elected president on successful election Free and fair election PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Leaders of the foils Putin’s scheme United States, NATO and the European Union on May 25 and 26 issued state- by Zenon Zawada ments congratulating the people of KYIV – Confectionary magnate Petro Ukraine on the presidential election Poroshenko, 48, was elected Ukraine’s fifth successfully held on May 25 and president on May 25 when nearly 55 per- pledged to work with the new president cent of voters cast their ballots for him, giv- of Ukraine as the country seeks to ing him the needed majority to avoid a run- determines it own future. off. Runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko earned Below are the full texts of their about 13 percent of the vote. statements about the historic election. Buttressing Mr. Poroshenko’s convincing Statement by President Barack victory was the absence of any reports of Obama, May 25: massive, organized fraud or intimidation of On behalf of all Americans, I congrat- voters and commissioners in the presiden- ulate the people of Ukraine for making tial vote beyond the violence-plagued their voices heard by voting in their Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The election presidential election today. Despite earned a unanimous stamp of approval provocations and violence, millions of from international election observers. Ukrainians went to the polls through- “This was the most important election in out the country, and even in parts of independent Ukraine’s history,” said a eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed statement from the election-observing mis- separatist groups sought to disenfran- sion of the National Democratic Institute chise entire regions, some courageous that was read at a May 26 press conference Ukrainians still were able to cast their in Kyiv by its chair, Madeleine K. Albright. ballots. We commend the resolve of all “By turning out to vote yesterday across those who participated, as well as the the vast majority of the country, Ukrainians efforts of the Ukrainian government to did more than elect a new president. They conduct these elections in the face of showed the world their commitment to those threats. sovereignty, unity and democracy.” Throughout the last few months, the The free and fair vote, combined with Ukrainian people have repeatedly the 60 percent voter turnout rate and con- solidation behind Mr. Poroshenko, served demonstrated their desire to choose Facebook/Petro Poroshenko their leaders without interference and (Continued on page 15) Petro Poroshenko and his wife, Maryna, cast their ballots on election day. to live in a democracy where they can determine their own future free of violence and intimidation. This election is another important step forward in the efforts of the Ukrainian government to UWC and UCCA release preliminary observations on elections unify the country and reach out to all of its citizens to ensure their concerns are addressed and aspirations met. UWC: Vote met international standards UCCA: Ukrainians demonstrated The United States looks forward to for conduct of democratic elections their commitment to democracy working with the next president, as well as the democratically elected The Ukrainian World Congress International Observation Mission The preliminary statement below was released by the Ukrainian Parliament, to support Ukraine’s efforts on May 26 released its preliminary observations, which were signed Congress Committee of America on May 26. by Bohdan Futey, head of mission, and Peter Sztyk, chief observer. to enact important political and eco- The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America’s International nomic reforms. We also continue to sup- The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) International Election Election Observer Mission, which observed the elections in every port Ukraine’s sovereignty and territori- Observation Mission (UWC Mission) is the third largest region of Ukraine, including Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano- al integrity, condemn and reject Russia’s international observation mission to the early presidential election Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, occupation and attempted annexation of in Ukraine after the observation missions of the Organization for Sumy, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhia and Zhytomyr, as well as at the Crimea, and remain committed to work- Security and Cooperatoin in Europea (OSCE) and the European diplomatic posts in the United States – affirms that the May 25 ing with Ukraine and other partners to Network of Election Monitoring Organizations. (ENEMO). elections met international standards for free and fair elections find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The UWC Mission numbers 236 observers who have travelled and accurately reflects the will of the Ukrainian electorate. Statement by U.S. Secretary of to Ukraine from 22 countries (including observers from the World Despite minor infractions, including the presence of campaign State John Kerry, May 26: Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organizations, who were supported advertisements in a few municipalities, instances of inaccurate The United States congratulates the by the International Renaissance Foundation). voter lists in a handful of precincts, and voter frustration with people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian The conclusions of the UWC Mission are based upon direct long lines in Kyiv, the 222 officially registered UCCA international government for their historic elections observations by its short-term observers and meetings held with election observers who visited over 600 polling stations reported on May 25. officials from state institutions, representatives of political parties, that the voting process was conducted in a peaceful, transparent media, civil society and the international community. and democratic manner. (Continued on page 14) (Continued on page 14) (Continued on page 14) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2014 No. 22 ANALYSIS Ukrainian businessmen support Obama speaks with Poroshenko Poroshenko secure the presidency “an expression of the will” of the country’s citi- WASHINGTON – President Barack zens. “The presidential election was char- paramilitary units in state service Obama called Ukraine’s president-elect on acterized by high turnout and a clear May 27 to offer his congratulations and resolve by the authorities to hold what was started operating in the nearby Donbas assurances of U.S. support for Ukraine. The by Vladimir Socor a genuine election largely in line with inter- (see below). White House, Office of the Press Secretary Eurasia Daily Monitor national commitments and respecting fun- On April 13 the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast released the following information: May 20 damental freedoms, despite the hostile administration announced the decision to “President Obama called President-elect Ukrainian forces are struggling to con- set up a Dnipro 1 Battalion in that oblast, Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine today to con- security environment in two eastern tain Russia’s proxy insurgency in the sponsored by billionaire governor Igor gratulate him on his victory and offer the regions of the country,” the leaders said in Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts). Kolomoisky, at the disposal of Ukraine’s full support of the United States as he seeks the statement. The leaders added that they The Ukrainian “anti-terrorist operation,” Ministry of Internal Affairs. Shortly thereaf- to unify and move his country forward. The “stand firm in upholding Ukraine’s sover- under way since April 13, remains incon- ter, the same administration announced president stressed the importance of eignty and territorial integrity” and con- clusive thus far. This operation has revealed plans to set up a further battalion, with per- quickly implementing the reforms neces- demn Russia’s “illegal annexation” of how deeply Ukraine’s army and police sonnel from the former Berkut elite unit sary for Ukraine to bring the country Ukraine’s Crimea territory in March. They were hollowed out in recent years, materi- (disbanded merely three months ago). On together and to develop a sustainable econ- also called on Moscow to engage with Mr. ally and morally. May 11, the Defense Ministry approved omy, attractive investment climate, and Poroshenko, to withdraw its troops from The insurgency’s nucleus of combatants plans to create two battalions of territorial transparent and accountable government Ukraine’s borders, and to “use its leverage from Russia turns out to have been overrat- defense in that same oblast. Additionally, that is responsive to the concerns and aspi- on the armed separatists to de-escalate the ed; and their locally recruited auxiliaries Mr. Kolomoisky is advertising his private rations of all Ukrainians. The United States situation in eastern Ukraine.” French President Francois Hollande said that if the seem little more than a scattered rabble, offer of bounties for the capture of armed will continue assisting Ukraine in these Kremlin fails to cooperate or help end the deeply disappointing the Russian com- insurgents (1 + 1 TV, May 12; euromaidan- efforts. The two leaders agreed to continue violence in eastern Ukraine, Russia could mander Igor

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