www.ukrweekly.com Ш 1 ubiished by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.c. a fraternal non-profit associitioni| rainian Ш Y Vol. LVII No. 31 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY. JULY 30.1989 50 cents Most miners in (Ukraine bacic on job Ukrainian Catholics protest in iUoscow after meeting with prime minister as World Council of Churches meets by Patricia Lefevere JERSEY CITY, NJ. - The coal netsk area of Siberia. miners' strike that had begun on July 10 Strikes were also reported in Vor­ Special to The Weekly in the single Siberian mining center of kuta, in the Arctic Circle, Pavlohrad in MOSCOW - Pressing Mezhdurechensk by July 15 had spread Ukraine, and in western Ukraine in their demand for legali­ to Ukraine — to the Soviet Union's Chervonohrad and Novovolynske. zation of their Church and richest coalfield, the Donets Basin. After winning a package of conces­ their claim that perestroika According to some estimates, about sions from the Soviet government, most has not extended to them, 28 half of the USSR's 1 million miners had strikers in the Kuzbas returned to work Ukrainian Catholics walked off their jobs by July 21 - by July 21, but miners in the Donbas demonstrated outside the 300,000 of them in the Donbas. held out until July 25. Central Tourist Hotel for se­ Approximately 150,000 more miners The Washington Post reported that veral hours here, every day were on strike in the Soviet Union's miners in Ukraine agreed to end their from July 21 through July second largest coal basin in the Kuz­ (Continued on page 4) 26, while, inside, leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC) held their central committee meeting strikes spread to western Ul^raine; — the first ever in the Soviet Union. first political demands are made Many of the representa- by Bohdan Nahaylo that have been put forward by the tives of the world's miners of the Kuzbas and Donbas, Protestant and Orthodox MUNICH - Coal miners'strikes the miners in Chervonohrad also denominations, meeting in the Donbas have spread to Cher­ raised political issues. nine days here, watched the vonohrad in western Ukraine and They demanded that genuinely demonstrators as did Soviet there the miners have put forward democratic elections be held in the police and plainclothes political as well as social and eco­ city and called for the removal of a observers, who were in turn nomic demands. Significantly, they host of local officials, whom they watched and filmed by have floated the idea of an forming accused of having rigged the recent United Church TV of an independent trade union called election of representatives to the Canada and by dozens of "Solidarity." Congress of People's Deputies. foreign journalists from According to information received The strikers in Chervonohrad Europe and North America, by telephone by Radio Liberty's called for the creation of an indepen­ as well as Soviet camera­ Ukrainian Service from Anatoliy dent trade union for workers in the men. Dotsenko, the Moscow press repre­ mining industry that would have the The WCC groups some sentative of the Ukrainian Helsinki name "Solidarity." 300 Churches from more Union, a key "informal" Ukrainian The strike in Chervonohrad spread than 100 countries and is organization, the strikes in Chervo­ quickly and by the morning of July headquartered in Geneva. nohrad began on the afternoon of 21 all 12 mines in the city were (Continued on page 3) One of 28 demonstrators outside WCC conclave. July 20 at three mines: Nos. 3,4 and reported to be on strike. On the 6. evening of July 20 a mass meeting of Apart from making social and miners was held in the city center. Pope appoints bishop Bishop for Byelorussia economic demands similar to those (Continued on page 3) for Poland's Ukrainians is first in 60 years ROME - Pope John Paul II on July KESTON, England - With the Senate bill recognizes Ukrainian refugees 20 announced that the Rt. Rev. Mitred agreement of the Soviet authorities. Archpriest Iwan Martyniak, currently Pope John Paul II on July 24 named Famine Commission receives 5100,000 funding the vicar general for Catholics of the Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz as the first WASHINGTON - The Senate on last August resulted in a high denial irat e Greek Rite (Ukrainian Catholics) in Catholic bishop in Byelorussia since the July 20 — by a unanimous vote of 97 of refugee status, leaving many refugees Southern Poland and pastor of As­ Communist takeover of thai country. yeas — a refugee provision for designa­ stranded in Rome and Vienna. sumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Rev. Kondrusiewicz, a 43-year- tion to the State Department Authori­ The New Jersey legislator stated that Church in Legnica, has been named old priest from Byelorussia's Polish zation Bill which provides for designa­ there was no basis for the change in auxiliary bishop to the Polish primate minority, was named apostolic admi­ tion of certain groups from the Soviet policy and asked: "Have conditions with responsibility for Greek (Ukrai­ nistrator of the Byelorussian capital Union, including Ukrainian Catholics facing Soviet Jews, Pentecostals, Bap­ nian) Catholics in Poland. Minsk with responsibility for all the and Orthodox, and from Indochina as tists, Ukrainian Catholics or Orthodox, The appointment is an important one estimated 2 million Catholics in Bye­ persecuted and eligible for refugee or Vietnamese changed so dramatically for Ukrainian Catholics in Poland as lorussia, reported Keston College. status. as to warrant these new and historically their Church is outlawed in the Soviet Bishop Kondrusiewicz was born in Also adopted, by voice vote, was an unprecedented denial rates? Emphati­ Union, noted the Ukrainian Catholic 1946 in Odelsk. He studied mathematics amendment authorizing S 100,000 for cally not." Church's Rome-based Press Bureau. and architecture in Grodno and Lenin­ the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Pointing out that both Ukrainian There are an estimated 500,000 grad, before working as an architect in Famine. Churches are outlawed in the Soviet Ukrainian Catholics in Poland. They Vilnius. He then entered the seminary in During consideration of the State Union, Sen. Lautenberg reminded his have been under the protection of the Kaunas, where he last year gained a Department bill, Sen. Frank Lauten- colleagues that "during the 100th Con­ Polish Catholic Church, which recently doctorate in church law, the first non-. berg (D-N.J.) offered the refugee gress, just a little over a year ago, we was recognized by the Polish govern­ Lithuanian to do so. amendment which was based on S. 893, passed a resolution that stated that ment. He was ordained in 1981, and spent a bill he had submitted in May. The 'Despite decades of severe persecution, "We are grateful to the holy father eight years in the Gates of Dawn parish senator argued that the change in Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian that he has recognized the importance in Vilnius, before being transferred to "standard by which Soviet and other Catholic believers to this day continue of our faithful having a bishop who will Grodno, where the became priest of the prospective refugees were evaluated" (Continued on page 14) (Continued on page 16) (Continued on page 16) THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY. JULY 30. 1989 No. 31 A GLIMPSE Of SOVIET REALITY FOR THE RECORD: Donetske leaflet LONDON -The Ukrainian Press chev to make assurances at the Agency has received from its Warsaw session of the Supreme Soviet of the Report on the coal miners' strike representative the following copy of USSR about his understanding and a leaflet circulated by the unofficial support for your demands. Do not Ukrainian National Democratic believe these words! Bolshevik lea­ from the Ukrainian Helsinki Union League, a group that supports an ders have made promises to maintain by Kathleen Mihalisko take the maintenance of law and order independent Ukraine, Western-style themselves in power and have been into their own hands, in some cases multi-party system and free trade ready to agreed to any demand, to go MUNICH - When TASS first an­ prohibiting the sale of alcohol. unions. and undertake any crime. This is nounced on July 17 that coal miners in The authorities began to circulate A full translation of the leaflet proved by events in Novocherkask, Makiyivka in the Donbas region of rumors that members of the Organiza­ follows. Karabakh and Tbilisi. Only when concrete actions are undertaken, Ukraine had gone on strike and were tion of Ukrainian Nationalists had Jit^^ making a number of demands concern­ arrived from the western Ukrainian city To the Miners of the Donets Region! when concrete laws are adopted by ing pay, pension rights and so forth, it Respected Mining Community! the Supreme Soviet, or amendments of Lviv. Mr. Dotsenko strongly denies are approved to the constitution will quoted a striker as saying that a repre­ that anyone came from Lviv, which is The strike that you began m sup­ sentative of the Ukrainian Helsinki port of the Kuzbas miners is a saintly we be able to speak about the first held to be a center of nationalist steps toward victory. Union had come from Lviv to meddle in activity, to agitate in the Donbas. and noble affair. And in this action the affairs of the workers and to distri­ Members of the Ukrainian Helsinki all honest and conscientious citizens Brothers! Raise not only socio- bute "provocative" leaflets. Union in the towns of Yenakiyevo, in Ukraine support you. economic, but also political de­ This assertion struck a discordant Komunarske and Donetske were pre­ You stand in defense not only of mands! Transform your strike into a note in the Soviet media's sympathetic sent among the strikers in order to your own rights, not only in defense struggle with the exploiters - the coverage of the coal miner strikes that become acquainted with their demands of your own comforts and privileges.