The Ukrainian Weekly 1983, No.36

www.ukrweekly.com Published by the Ukrainian National Association inc., a fraternal non-profit'association! Ql ^ rainian Weekly М Ж 5 vol. LI No. 36 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4,1983 25 cents Student group's sit-in Bike-a-thon held in memory of millions of famine victims by Mykhailo Bociurkiw on-lookers and on car windshields. On sands of famine leaflets along the way, scores Dachau museum's occasion, they would stop for a few they were able to meet with civic OTTAWA Thirty-seven Ukrai– minutes to explain the purpose of their officials and reporters. Coverage of the nian Canadian students biking from trip. By the time the bikers had cir– bikers' endeavor appeared during the omission of Ukrainians Toronto to commemorate the Great culated throughout a town, the pe– week in Toronto, Oshawa and Kingston DACHAU, West Germany - Eigh– Famine in Ukraine arrived here Friday, deslrians and cars along the streets newspapers. From Ottawa, the Cana– teen Ukrainian students staged a sit-in August 26. after a five-day, 230-mile would be inundated with the one-page dian Press, Canada's national news at the Dachau concentration camp trek. mimeographed sheets handed out by agency, reported the bike-a-thon in its museum here on August 17 to demand The students, representing various the bikers. national news story on the Soviet that Ukrainian victims of the Nazi death Toronto-based Ukrainian youth and As the bikers traveled along Ontario Embassy demonstration. camp be acknowledgd by the museum. student organizations were participat– Provincial Highway 2, they would rest The bikers returned to Toronto The students, who were on a Euro– ing in a bike-a-thon sponsored by the Saturday afternoon on their chartered pean tour tracing the Ukrainian dias– Ontario Council of the Ukrainian For photos of the bike-a-thon. see bus. After healing their sore muscles pora which is sponsored annually by the Canadian Committee. The purpose of page 8. and getting plenty of rest, the bikers Ukrainian Free University Foundation, the project was to draw public attention began the task of assessing media began their protest at 4 p.m. in the to the famine and to raise money fo"r periodically for caloric intake, such as a coverage of their campaign and cal– museum's hall of nations. They were refugees in Afghanistan and Kampu– bite of watermelon and cookies. culating the amount of money raised joined by Prof. Petro Goy, head of the chea. in the weeks leading up to the They made regular stops for during the bike-a-thon. tour, and the Rev. Evhen Harabacz, bike-a-thon, the students solicited meals, too. who was a prisoner in Dachau from sponsors who pledged to donate The assembled group created a bright 1942 to 1945. money for each kilometer pedalled. spectacle for passing motorists with Famine recalled in a flyer distributed to museum The cyclists left Toronto on Sunday, their highly visible blue and yellow T– visitors, the students said that they were August 21, after the opening ceremonies shirts. The T-shirts clearly indicated the there to protest "the omission of Ukraine of Ukrainian Heritage Day at Ontario purpose of the bike-a-thon to passers- at demonstration from the museum's records and the hall Place. During their trip, the bikers by; the front of the shirts read "in of nations," adding that they would not distributed information about the Great Memory of the Millions" while the back OTTAWA - About 125 Ukrainian leave "until a channel of communica– Famine to residents of the cities and read, "Artificial Famine in Ukraine Canadian students held a demonstra– tion is opened and until we are con– towns along the bike route, in larger 1933." tion in front of the Soviet Embassy vinced that this omission will be recti– centers, they made presentations to Overnight, the bikers camped at on Friday, August 26, to commemo– fied." municipal officials and spoke to re- Provincial Parks located along High- rate the Great Famine in Ukraine. They also unfurled a banner, which porters from local print and broadcast way 2. in Oshawa and Kingston, they The hourlong march, prayer and said in German: "Discriminationagainst media. were accommodated in local Ukrainian silent vigil was organized as part of Ukrainians in Dachau." A school bus bearing a bright blue halls, and in Ottawa, the Basilian the 24th Congress of the Ukrainian Shortly after the protest began, the and yellow Ukrainian flag accompanied Fathers lodged the group in the Holy Canadian Students' Union (SUSK). students were confronted by security the cyclists as they made their way Spirit Ukrainian Seminary. Participants came from as far away personnel and the museum director, across southern and eastern Ontario. Upon arrival in Ottawa, the bikers as vancouver, Edmonton and New who asked them to leave. When they The bus carried the bikers' equipment met civic officials at City Hall on Friday York to participate in the four-day refused, museum officials contacted and luggage, and transported the group morning. Later that evening, they congress. Among the protesters were Gerda Fraundorfer from the Bavarian back to Toronto at the end of their trip. attended a demonstration in front of the 37 cyclists who biked from Toronto Ministry of Castles and Lakes, who The bikers, age 15 to 28, traveled in Soviet Embassy organized by the Ukrai– 1 to Ottawa for the demonstration and arrived at the museum followed by groups of about 15 to 20 cyclists. They nian Canadian Students' Union ;o raise money for refugee camps in reporters. travelled an average of 80 kilometers a (SUSK). Afghanistan and Kampuchea. After talking with the students, she day. Before entering a town, the bikers All of the bikers managed to make it called Georges Walreave, secretary would receive a few pamphlets which to Ottawa without incurring any major The demonstrators marched up general of the international Dachau they would place in the hands of curious injuries. Besides distributing thou– and down the sidewalk opposite the Committee in Brussels, and relayed the Soviet Embassy under the watchful protesters' three basic demands - that eyes of police. The students carried lit the museum add a placard with the candles and sang somber Ukrainian name Ukraine to the museum's hall of songs. nations, that the Ukrainian national A prayer service was conducted by flag be displayed with flags of other Ukrainian Orthodox priest, the Rev. nations, and that the museum archives Maxym Lysak. After leading the be searched for records of Ukrainian protesters in prayer, the Rev. prisoners of Dachau and that they be lysak asked fora minute of silence in presented as such on the table citing the memory of the millions that had number of each nationality imprisoned perished during the famine. in the camp. Three members of the SUSK na– Mr. Walreave acceded'to all three of tional executive were permitted to the demands, but Ms. Fraundorfer enter the Soviet Embassy to deliver refused the students' request that a five copies of The Ukrainian Weekly's tentative agreement be made out in special issue of the Great Famine. writing. Unsatisfied, the students thrca– After placing the newspapers on a tened to continue the protest until table inside the embassy, the three journalist Hans Holzheider of the were quickly waved away by Soviet Suddeutsche Zeitung promised that Embassy officials. he would report that an agreement had The demonstration concluded at 8 been reached. p.m. after the singing of the Ukrai– The idea of the protest arose when the nian national anthem. Coverage of students on the "Steps of Our Fore- the demonstration appeared that fathers" tour of Ukrainian centers in evening on the local broadcast media Western Europe visited Dachau on and also on the Canadian Press August 10 and discovered that no national wire service. mention was made anywhere of Ukrai– - M.B. (Continued on page 15) Cyclists travel along Highway 2 between Toronto and Ottawa. 2 :. '. - - -''" - ::. - . - Л::.'THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4,1983 ' -– --' -" " „.„„.^No. 36 Christian activist arrives in West- Dissident profile Mykola Bondar: says religious repression has intensified viENNA vadim Shcheglov. a49- activists regardless of creed or denomi– philosopher, d issident activist year-old member of the unofficial nation. Christian Committee lor the Defense of He said that despite severe official JERSEY ClTY, N.J. in 1968. letter to the deputies ol the Supreme Believers" Rights, arrived here with his persecution, which included the arrest Mykola Bondar, then 29. began to Sdyiel and the U.N. Human Rights family recently after being allowed to and imprisonment ol the Rev. Yakunin. lecture in philosophy at Uzhhorod Commission describing the lawless– emigrate lrofn the Soviet Union. the committee continues to grou. University in southwestern Ukraine ness to which they and their families although the names ol new members are Л devout Communist, he often took had been subjected to and demand– Shortly after his arrival. Mr. Shche– not publicized lo shield them from exception to the direction the party mg an investigation by a special U.N. glov, a layman, told Western officials arrest was taking, it was ultimately this committee as well as political pri– that despite a sharp rise in repression, When asked to comment on reports clash between his ideology and the soner status by the Soviet govern– the committee continues tot unction but about a religious renaissance in the reality of the Soviet Communist menl. maintains a low profile. Soviet Union, Mr. Shcheglov told a reporter from Keston College that the system that led to his arrest and in 1973. Mr. Bondar was trans– 1 he committee, which Mr.

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