www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: l Experts in Ukraine comment on independence – page 3 l Our communities mark Ukrainian Independence Day – page 4 l Ukraine a force at Summer Paralympic Games – page 14 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXX No. 36 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 $1/$2 in Ukraine Plast’s centennial celebrations Consecration of Bishop Borys Gudziak culminate with jamboree in Lviv draws thousands from Ukraine and beyond by Zenon Zawada Special to The Ukrainian Weekly LVIV – Rarely does the consecration of a bishop draw much attention beyond the clergy and staunch faithful, much less from youth. Yet state officials, diplomats and thou- sands of Catholics from Ukraine and abroad – including hundreds of Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) students and graduates – packed St. George Cathedral in Lviv on August 26 to witness the consecra- tion of the Rev. Borys Gudziak as the 49th bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. He will serve as apostolic exarch for Ukrainian Catholics of France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. The cathedral’s tightly packed crowd – in which it was difficult for even politicians to get up front – reflected the profound effect that Bishop Borys, who turns 52 in November, has had on Ukrainian higher education during his 10-year tenure as UCU rector. During that decade, more than 2,500 students graduated, a 42-acre theo- logical seminary was built and construc- Zenon Zawada tion was launched on a 10-acre central campus where students now live. Bishop Borys Gudziak blesses the faithful with holy water following his August 26 con- “I came to thank God that my children secration at St. George Cathedral in Lviv. study in this unique university, and with my presence I want to thank Borys Gudziak students who study in such a university, the for his devotion to his calling to serve God more our community will be spiritually on behalf of my children and all those wealthy and we’ll be entirely different,” she studying at the university,” said Valentyna added. Rushchak, whose children Oleh and Among the official guests attending Petro Zadorozhnyy/LUFA Bohdanna currently study at UCU. were U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Plast scouts march in the opening ceremonies of the Jubilee International Plast “We hope they will study well, and we Tefft, who brought a congratulatory letter Jamboree in Lviv on August 19. hope they will become worthy people to represent our beloved Ukraine. The more (Continued on page 14) by Deanna Yurchuk Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), where Special to The Ukrainian Weekly many more scouts joined them for the weeklong jubilee festivities. LVIV – Thousands of Plast members Participants had various reasons for trav- from 10 countries converged on August 19 eling to Ukraine to witness this historic at the Taras Shevchenko monument in Lviv event. For Myroslav Vovk, 14, of Lviv, it was for the opening ceremonies of Plast’s a sense of obligation. “The 100th anniversa- Jubilee International Jamboree (known by ry is a significant event, which every mem- its Ukrainian acronym as YuMPZ), an event ber of Plast should not miss,” he said, adding that seemed unlikely throughout Ukraine’s “All Ukrainians should belong to Plast, tumultuous history. because it cultivates a strength of spirit that Over 1,300 Plast members had arrived in is very important for Ukraine today.” Ukraine 10 days earlier to participate in 26 For Borys Frankewycz, 30, of Munich, it different scouting camps scattered through- was a sense of service. “YuMPZ has always out wilderness areas in Western Ukraine, provided me with an opportunity to meet Kharkiv Oblast and Zakerzonnia, Poland. people from all over the world,” he said, According to the head of Plast worldwide, “and I want to give back to the organization Volodymyr Bazarko, of Cleveland, “That what I have received from it.” whole week was cold and rainy, leaving the For Paul Genyk-Berezowsky, 15, of campers wet and muddied, making it diffi- Toronto, it was a sense of sentimentality. “It cult to prepare meals, rest or sleep. But the was important for me to be here for the 100th scouts were undaunted.” anniversary of this big organization that my Traveling by buses from multiples sites, father has devoted his life to,” he shared. Roman Baluk/LUFA the campers converged throughout the day Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk greets the Rev. Borys Gudziak prior to his consecration on August 18 at the campus of the (Continued on page 10) as bishop. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2012 No. 36 NEWS ANALYSIS Ukraine’s ruling party gets catty, Court rejects Tymoshenko appeal vated, as there were sufficient grounds to call the former prime minister to account. KYIV – The Ukrainian Specialized He wrote about this in his August 27 op-ed opposition bares its claws Supreme Court on August 29 rejected for- article in the Wall Street Journal. “The EU mer Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s He believes it was the local authorities’ increasingly sees its relations with Ukraine by Maryana Drach appeal against her abuse-of-office convic- heavy-handed response that made his cam- through the lens of the clash between RFE/RL tion and accompanying seven-year jail sen- paign so popular. “[Without them] the most President Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia tence. Ms. Tymoshenko has been impris- Ukrainian social networks have been people we could have hoped to reach Tymoshenko, the former prime minister. oned since her conviction in October 2011 awash with cats. Because of the way it has been handled, it would have been a small percentage of resi- in connection with natural-gas deals As cute little kitties tend to abound dents on the left bank of Dniprodzerzhynsk,” is not surprising that EU leaders think that reached with Russia when she was prime the case brought against Ms. Tymoshenko everywhere on the Internet, you might he said. minister in 2009. Her lawyers argued in think this is hardly unusual. But these “The main motive [for the advertising is politically motivated. But they are wrong court this month that negotiating the gas in thinking that the charges against her felines are at the heart of an intriguing campaign] was to protest,” he added. “It deal with Russia was a political act that in political row ahead of Ukraine’s parliamen- was a protest against monotonous and dull lack substance, and that she has no case to no way represented criminal action. Ms. answer,” Mr. Yushchenko wrote. In his opin- tary elections in just over two months. political advertising, a protest against false Tymoshenko, 51, has not attended the The story made headlines when anti- ‘improvements,’ against the blatant PR of ion, the EU is making a serious political appeal trial herself, receiving treatment for miscalculation by taking a pause in talks government billboards that took a humor- the authorities, the one-sided presentation back trouble in a state-run hospital since with Ukraine on the agreement on associa- ous swipe at the ruling Party of Regions of information by corrupt media, the May. The former prime minister’s defense tion and a free trade area. “For 46 million were pasted over in the eastern city of repression of political dissent and, ulti- lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, accused the court Dniprodzerzhynsk in the Dnipropetrovsk Ukrainians, the benefits of partnership mately, against elections without choice.” of acting under pressure from President with the EU are much more important than region. Although Mr. Holosnyy is no longer affili- Viktor Yanukovych by rejecting the appeal. the conflict between these two individuals,” One of the billboards depicted a cat with ated with any party, he himself used to be a “This ruling was Viktor Yanukovych’s deci- the former president said. (Ukrinform) an elderly woman who says: “I found out member of the Party of Regions. He told sion: to hold Yulia Tymoshenko, his main my grandson voted for the Party of RFE/RL that he became a member in 2004, political opponent, in prison for as long as Yanukovych warns against meddling Regions, so I rewrote [my will] to give my when he was still an architecture student, possible, without any evidence, without any house to the cat.” “partly as a result of his opposition” to the KYIV – President Viktor Yanukovych explanation, without any sense.” (RFE/RL) says Ukraine remains committed to Photographs of the old lady and her Orange Revolution. European integration, but will not tolerate kitty soon appeared on social media and Nonetheless, Mr. Holosnyy maintains he EU condemns Ukrainian justice have been making the rounds ever since. any meddling in its affairs. Speaking on was not active in the party and did not pay BRUSSELS – The European Union on Rumors quickly circulated that the bill- August 24 at a ceremony marking membership fees, even though he decided August 29 urged Ukraine to reform its judi- boards were removed because local offi- Ukraine’s Independence Day, Mr. to renew his membership in 2010 in order cial system after former Prime Minister cials wanted to put a halt to such negative Yanukovych said integration should not to be elected as a village head. Yulia Tymoshenko lost her appeal against campaigning, an accusation that they deny. take place “at the expense of losing inde- “I was told in private that it would be dif- an abuse of office conviction and another The owner of the billboard space has also pendence.” He warned against forces that ficult for me to get elected without being on leading opposition figure was jailed earlier he said seek to “politically capitalize on denied that there was any pressure from the the Party of Regions’ ticket, and I wanted to this month.