The Ukrainian Weekly 1987, No.20
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www.ukrweekly.com irr І НК |Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.. a fratTnal non-profit a5sociation| UHanWeeFl V Vol. LV No.20 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 17. 1987 25 cent3 A/ /be Demjanjuk trial Veteran political prisoner Shumuk Defense accuses witness of fraud permitted to emigrate to Canada special to Svoboda and The Weekly "Butcher of Kielce." Mr. O'Connor had by Michael Bociurkiw wanted to show that the Office of JERUSALEM - Chief defense at Special 1nvestigations, which employs TORONTO ~ Ukrainian dissident torney Mark O'Connor accused Ameri Mr. Epstein as its chief forensics expert, Danylo Shumuk has been given permis can documents expert Gideon Epstein had possessed documents clearing Mr. sion to emigrate to Canada. of giving fraudulent testimony during Walus, but had kept 4hem secret. The Canadian Government an the John Demjanjuk trial this week as Earlier, defense counsel John Gill nounced on May 11 that the Soviet cross-examination of this prosecution had established in his questioning of the Union will allow the 73-year-old dissi witness continued. witness that there are differences among dent to fly to Moscow from Karatobe in Mr. O'Connor on Monday, May 11, the signatures of Ernst Teufel on the the Kazakh republic, where he has accused the expert of fraud because he samples he examined. been in internal exile for the past five had testified that there were no diffe Under cross-examination, Mr. Ep years. rences between a certified copy of the stein also revealed that when he had Canadian External Affairs Minister Trawniki identification card and the made copies of the original Trawniki ID Joe Clark asked Soviet Foreign Mi original. card at the Soviet Embassy, the photo nister Eduard Shevardnadze in October Mr. O'Connor was prevented by the was not attached to it, but that when he 1986 to allow the Ukrainian dissident to presiding judge from entering into placed the photo on top of the card, the join his nephew in British Columbia. evidence a certified copy of the card stamps meshed. Mr. Shumuk, a member of the Ukrai given by the Soviets to a Cleveland Mr. Epstein admitted that he had nian Helsinki Group, has spent 34years court in 198I. The attorney said the traveled across the United States in in prisons or labor camps, mostly on copy would show Soviet fraud. 1981 with lectures for documents ex charges of anti-Soviet agitation and Mr. O'Connor later told the press, perts and had used materials from the propaganda. "These cards are totally different." He still-pending Demjanjuk case. The Denis Tessier, a spokesperson for the pointed to a blocked out section of the witness said that he had been told by External Affairs Department in Ot copy which on the original contains the OSI lawyers that this was allowable, but tawa, said Mr. Shumuk was expected to name of a Soviet official who translated now he believes that he should not have come to the Canadian Embassy in it in 1948 as well as the source, the KGB. iised materials from a case still under Moscow on Friday, May 15 and leave "Why doesn't the Soviet Union come review. the Soviet Union a few days later. here and certify this original. That's the The prosecution next called Ma- The Canadian Government first only way this can be cleared up," the tityahu Maize1, a professor of Soviet called upon the Soviet Union to allow Associated Press quoted Mr. O'Connor history at Tel Aviv University, to the Mr. Shumuk to emigrate to Canada in Danylo Shumuk as saying. witness stand. He began his testimony the early 1970s. Since then, Canadian Presiding Judge Dov Levin also by speaking about the beginning of Cabinet ministers have intervened 40 years' incarceration prevented Mr. O'Connor from asking Wor1d War IL The professor continued about 25 times on Mr. Shumuk's behalf The 73-year-old veteran political about the case of Frank Walus, a his testimony the next day, Tuesday, with Soviet officials. prisoner was born on January 30, Chicagoan accused of Nazi war crimes May 12, by speaking about the further ,During a 1985 official visit to Kiev, 1914, in the village of Boremshchyna, and later found to be a victim of history of Wor1d War И. Mr. Clark startled Alexander Lyashko, Volhynia 0bIast, to a large peasant mistaken identity, although 11 wit During the cross-examination, Prof. the chairman of the Council of Ministers family. In 1933 at the age of 18 he was nesses held testified that he was the (Continued on page 16) (Continued on page 14) arrested several times and eventually incarcerated in a Polish prison as a result of his underground Commu WCFU, UCC release report on Chomoby/ accident nist activity. Mr. Shumuk was im prisoned for over five years and JERSEY C1TY, NJ. - The Wor1d the response of the USSR," as well as problem," wrote the members of the released in 1939 after the Soviets Congress of Free Ukrainians (WCFU) "to educate the Ukrainian and interna Chornobyl Commission, "was that of a took control of Western Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Canadian Commit tional communities about these mat Warsaw resident: 'We can understand which was part of Poland at the time. tee (UCC) recently released a report in ters." an accident. 1t could happen to anyone. 1n May 1941 Mr. Shumuk was commemoration of the first anniversary 1he report has been sent to Ukrainian But that the Soviets said nothing and let forced to join a "work camp," but of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster in central organizations throughout our children suffer exposure to this once the Germans invaded the Soviet Soviet Ukraine. The purpose of the Australia, Canada, Europe and the cloud for days is unforgivable.' The Union, these work' camps were report is to inform the public of findings United States, as well as several media, situation in Ukraine was even worse as transformed into penal battalions, related to the accident in the past year. government, nuclear physics and hea1th the population was still not informed which were sent to the front lines The study was put together by the oriented organizations, according to while Polish children were being given without military training. Captured Chornobyl Commission whose mem Lida Soltys, project coordinator. an iodine solution." by the Germans, Mr. Shumuk spent bers were: J.A. Dankowych, Ph.D.; 0. A number of interviews have been "So, who has taken the blame?" asks 18 months in a German POW camp Danylak; B. Jaciw; B. Lychacz, M.D.; given by the WCFU as a result of the the commission. "In the first place, two near Poltava until he escaped. David R. Marples, Ph.D.;0. A. Trojan, report, but Ms. Soltys said she's not all-union ministries have been purged of Disillusioned withcommunism Ph.D. sure the reaction to the report is what personnel: Power and Electrification, after learning of the artificial famine The report, which was released April the organizations had hoped for. "We're and Medium Machine Building (the in Ukraine of 1932-33, Mr. Shumuk 16, touched on a variety of topics, hoping central organizations will follow ministry in charge of nuclear weapons joined the Ukrainian 1nsurgent Army including understanding the nuclear up with more action" and distribute the production). 1n addition, the State (UPA) and was appointed a political explosion, handling the aftermath, report in their respective communities. Committee for Safety in the Atomic instructor in an officer training medical aspects and conclusions made The first part of the report, "Under Power 1ndustry, established in I983 school. by the commission. standing the Explosion" discusses what after a crisis at a reactor manufacturing 1n February I945 he was captured 1ts introduction notes: "The objec happened on April 26, 1986, the day of plant in Rostov 0bIast of the Russian by the NKVD Soviet secret police tives of this position paper are to review the accident and how the fire was Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, and a military tribunal sentenced him and comment on the disaster, detail the contained and how radionuclide re has also been heavily criticized." to be shot. The death sentence was short" and long-term effects of the leases were contained. 1t also looks at Of the Soviet version of the accident, eventually commuted to 20 years of radioactive fallout on the health of the boviet explanation of the events. that was released in Vienna, the com hard labor, and together with hun individuals, the food chain and the 1 he second section is titled "Handling mission wrote: ''The Soviet report, dreds of thousands of other poHtical environment, consider the safety issues, of the Aftermath." although refreshingly open, makes prisoners, Mr. Shumuk helped build look at what a mode1 response should "Perhaps tne most pomieu comment some suggestions that should continue (ContiiTfued on page 14) be to such a disaster and compare it to made in regard to the communication (Continued on page 10) THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 17, 1987 No.20 A GLIMPSE OF SOVIET REALITY Writer's manuscript confiscatbd NEW YORK - Literary historian Viktoras Petkus, who is serving a 15 Party secretaries reshuffled year sentence in Perm labor camp 36-1 has had yet another manuscript con fiscated from his cell, according to a in three Ukrainian regions report received by the Lithuanian by Roman Solchanyk the Obkom, V. H. Boyko." Information Center. Mr. Shcherbytsky, addressing the The confiscated \york is a literary The dismissals in February and Sixth Congress of the Ukrainian Union encyclopedia on wor1d writers, which March of three regional Communist of Journalists in mid-February, had Mr.