INSIDE: l Five years ago: the downing of MH17 – page 3 l Site of WW I internment camp is memorialized – page 4 l Our community: Los Angeles and Palatine – page 13 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association, Inc., celebrating W its 125th anniversaryEEKLY Vol. LXXXVII No. 29 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2019 $2.00 Concerns remain about Canadian aid to Ukraine Verkhovna Rada adopts new Election Code: and Zelenskyy following his official visit to Canada a first step to electoral reform in Ukraine by Christopher Guly July 1, Canada Day, when Mr. Bezan and by Bohdan Nahaylo other MPs were in their ridings attending Special to The Ukrainian Weekly Special to The Ukrainian Weekly community events marking Canada’s 152nd OTTAWA – Hundreds of delegates from birthday. What’s more, the face-to-face with KYIV –Ukraine’s eighth Parliament dozens of countries gathered in Toronto in President Zelenskyy was to be held only on since independence convened its final early July for the third annual Ukraine the margins of the conference – and even plenary session on July 11 with a long- Reform Conference, and to hear from then “that was not guaranteed,” said Mr. awaited political breakthrough – the Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Bezan, who is of Ukrainian descent. adoption of a new Election Code Zelenskyy, during his first official overseas “I think it was done accidentally on pur- designed to improve and democratize visit. Among the attendees were not only pose to make it tough for us in the opposi- the country’s election system. Canadian government officials, but also tion to be in attendance,” he said, laying the It followed weeks of recriminations Ukrainian Canadian community leaders blame on Liberal Prime Minister Justin after the calling of snap parliamentary who had specific concerns about the neo- Trudeau’s office. elections by newly elected President phyte politician’s policies. On July 2 – the day when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy between his team Paul Grod, the Canadian-based president Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister Trudeau and the outgoing administration of of the Ukrainian World Congress, said and addressed the conference – Mr. Bezan President Petro Poroshenko and his President Zelenskyy assured his audience and Erin O’Toole, the Conservative shadow allies in the Verkhovna Rada. It took a at a meeting with the Ukrainian community minister for foreign affairs, issued a state- ruling by the Constitutional Court on that he will defend Ukrainian as Ukraine’s ment that called on the Trudeau govern- June 20 to remove doubts about the sole state language. ment to make “the defense of Ukraine’s sov- legality of Mr. Zelenskyy’s action. Ukrainian Canadian Congress President ereignty and territorial integrity… a priority But the adoption of the reform Andriy Parubiy/Facebook Alexandra Chyczij said the president cited for Canada on the world stage.” remained problematic right until the Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy tackling corruption in Ukraine as a priority Mr. Trudeau did pledge strong support very end. On the day of the vote, it took and First Vice-Chair Iryna Gerashchenko and underscored that he would seek to end for Ukraine at the reform conference, as no less than 18 attempts to pass it, with celebrate the adoption on July 11 of the war in eastern Ukraine, but without well as at a news conference and dinner 230 deputies – just four votes more Ukraine’s new Election Code. sacrificing the country’s territorial integrity. with Mr. Zelenskyy. But the opposition than the required minimum – eventual- Notably absent from the events of the law, parliamentary elections should be held Conservatives had hoped to see more ly giving in to Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ukraine Reform Conference were members “on the last Sunday in the fifth year of the action behind the words. Andriy Parubiy’s persistence. of Canada’s Official Opposition Conservative As they have called for since Petro term of the office of the Verkhovna Rada,” caucus in the House of Commons, including Congratulating the deputies, the exhilarat- that is October 2023. Poroshenko was Ukraine’s president, the ed official declared it a “victory.” the leader, Andrew Scheer. Tory MPs want Canada to supply the The main change is the shift from a Manitoba Member of Parliament James It came too late to be applicable to the mixed proportional-majoritarian system in Ukrainian military with lethal-defensive pre-term parliamentary elections on July Bezan, who serves as the Conservative shad- equipment and give Ukraine’s Armed Forces which 50 percent of deputies were elected ow minister or critic for national defense, 21, though it will apply to the next local on the basis of votes for political parties access to satellite imagery previously pro- elections scheduled for 2020. There was a told The Ukrainian Weekly that he and his vided by former Prime Minister Stephen and 50 percent in single-mandate constitu- further catch: the changes will not be appli- Tory caucus colleagues received invitations Harper’s Conservative government. encies, to a purely proportional one – with to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy just days before cable to the Verkhovna Rada until the president was set to arrive in Toronto on (Continued on page 12) December 1, 2023. Yet, according to the (Continued on page 15) Transatlantic Task Force discusses Ukraine’s foreign policy priorities by Myroslav Dobroshynskyi Ukraine and outlined several priorities for the future. Mr. Freden stated that the U.S. WASHINGTON – Speakers from remains committed to a prosperous, war- Washington, Kyiv and Brussels discussed free, and united Ukraine. Ukrainian foreign policy priorities for newly Mr. Freden echoed President Donald elected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Trump’s earlier comments about the during a June 20 telecast organized by the United States’ unwavering support for the German Marshall Fund (GMF), and support- country, citing the statistic that the U.S. has ed by the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation as well as provided $1.5 billion in support for the the Reanimation Package of Reforms. Ukrainian war effort since 2014. Mr. Freden Opening remarks were provided by said he believes that Ukraine under newly Jonathan Katz, senior fellow at the GMF, and elected President Zelenskyy poses a real Orest Deychakiwsky, vice-chairman of the threat to authoritarianism in Russia and U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF). Messrs. other post-Soviet countries if it can suc- Katz and Deychakiwsky are co-chairs of cessfully demonstrate the advantages of a USUF’s Friends of Ukraine Network democratic state through reforms and a Democracy and Civil Society Task Force. commitment to transparency. The principal Washington speaker was “The fundamental threat that Zelenskyy German Marshall Fund Brad Freden, director of the Office of At the June 20 discussion featuring officials and experts in Washington, Kyiv and poses to Putin is to create a Ukraine that Eastern European Affairs at the U.S. Brussels, (from left) are: Brad Freden (State Department), Jonathan Katz (German shows the rest of the Soviet space what a Department of State. He began by present- Marshall Fund) and Orest Deychakiwsky (U.S.-Ukraine Foundation), who participat- ing a broad overview of U.S. policy toward ed from Washington. (Continued on page 15) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2019 No. 29 ANALYSIS Ukraine’s ‘shady’ political landscape Law on state language in effect lar methods of “implementing repressive state policies.” It noted: “The communist The law on Ukraine’s state language regime, like the Nazi regime, inflicted irrep- on eve of parliamentary elections came into force on July 16, two months arable damages to human rights because after former President Petro Poroshenko during its existence, it had total control by Alla Hurska solidate his power over popular Ukrainian endorsed it days before leaving office. The over society and politically motivated per- Eurasia Daily Monitor media. On June 14, Mr. Medvedchuk’s close associate Taras Kozak acquired the ZIK TV Law on Securing Ukrainian Language as the secutions and repressions, violated its In mid-June, the Constitutional Court of channel and solidified his control over 112 State Language declares Ukrainian “the international obligations, and its own con- Ukraine (CCU) ruled that the snap parlia- Ukraine and NewsOne by creating the only official state language in Ukraine.” It stitutions and laws.” The legislation was mentary elections called by newly inaugu- media holding company Novyny (112.ua, says “attempts” to introduce other languag- passed by Ukrainian lawmakers in May rated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would June 14). Mr. Medvedchuk also purchased es as the state language would be consid- 2015. That law paved the way for the be scheduled for July 21 (Pravda.com.ua, from Dmytro Firtash (who in the light of ered attempts to “forcibly change the con- removal of all Communist monuments not June 20; see Eurasia Daily Monitor, May 22). potential extradition to the United States is stitutional order.” The new law defines related to World War II and renaming pub- Recent polling conducted by the sociological actively selling his assets) 80 percent of what it calls the “public humiliation of the lic places and landmarks bearing Soviet firm Rating shows that 42.3 percent of shares of the TV channel Inter. According to Ukrainian language” as a punishable names. Since then, dozens of statues, Ukrainians are ready to support Mr. reports, he also plans to acquire Mr. offense under the country’s Criminal Code. plaques, and other monuments – for exam- Zelenskyy’s freshly formed Servant of the Poroshenko’s Priamyi and Channel 5 (24tv. It introduces mandatory language quotas ple, statues of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin People party, which could result – for the ua, June 30). As a result, approximately for state and private television broadcasts – have been torn down and destroyed.