INSIDE: • Statue is dedicated to World War I internees — page 3. • Follow-up: Ukrainian Canadian Congress convention — pages 4-5. • The U.N. and Ukraine: 50 years of cooperation — centerfold. THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY Published by the Ukrainian Nationai Association inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXIII No. 44 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1995 $1.25/$2 in Ukraine U.N. Mission moves Kuchma joins world leaders celebrating U.N 50th anniversary by Roman Woronowycz to new quarters NEW YORK — Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma spent four hectic days here participating in celebrations commemorating by Roman Woronowycz the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. From October 21-24, he met with world leaders and Ukrainian Americans, and official­ NEW YORK —.Ukraine's United ly opened the new Ukrainian U.N. Mission, but did not meet pri­ Nations Mission finally has a home vately with a single U.S. government official and only with one of its own after sharing facilities and Western leader, Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada. accommodations with the Russian The international body marked the golden anniversary of its and Belarusian missions for more founding in San Francisco in 1945 with high-level pomp, highlight­ than four years. ed by the attendance of more than 170 heads of state and govern­ The newly renovated building, ment. On Sunday morning, the day of the official beginning of the located on 51 st Street in Manhattan, special sessions marking the U.N.'s jubilee, the leaders traveled in a opened officially on October 23 constant stream to the microphone in the General Assembly Hall. with a host of Ukrainian dignitaries First up, after the leader of the host country, was President Kuchma. present, including President Leonid Mr. Kuchma was awarded the first position because during Kuchma. the summer Ukraine had won a lottery to determine the order of Since independence in August of the speeches. The stream of dignitaries continued to the mike 1991, the Ukrainian Mission- for three days in six special sessions. Each speaker was given remained located in the old Soviet five minutes to address the crowd. one because finances could not be President Kuchma spoke of Ukraine's lead role in nuclear found for a separate facility. This disarmament. "The world's third largest nuclear state was the made daily operations at times a del­ first to voluntarily renounce its nuclear status and nuclear icate and difficult task. Ukraine's weapons. However, this entailed enormous economic and eco­ first ambassador to the U.N., Viktor logical losses for us," he said. Batiuk, more than once spoke about He suggested that the U.N. should give special incentives the difficulty in working in the same and status to stimulate other countries to denuclearize, and building with Russians who could labeled such a U.N. program 'The World of the 21st Century not accept the idea, much less the — Without Nuclear Weapons." reality, of a free Ukraine. In the early Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma speaks before world days, Mission employees often (Continued on page 8) leaders in U.N. General Assembly Hall. walked the streets to get the needed privacy for secret discussions., Foreign Minister Heinnadiy Ukrainian Orthodox Sobor elects Filaret as patriarch Udovenko, Chief of Staff Dmytro Tabachnyk, U.N. Ambassador by Marta Kolomayets four voted against, nine abstained and Monastery, near the Monastery of the Anatoliy Zlenko, U.S. Ambassador Kyiv Press Bureau one ballot was invalidated. Caves, where the four hierarchs met with Yuri Shcherbak and a host of U.N. "Before God and before Ukraine, my Patriarch Dymytriy to sign an act of unity KYIV - Metropolitan Filaret was diplomats, Ukrainian officials and conscience is clean. I received no pressure between the two Churches. elected patriarch of the Ukrainian invited members of the Ukrainian from presidential circles, nor did any mem­ They said they acted "for the sake of Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate by American community were on hand bers of the security services of Ukraine concord and to accelerate the process of the overwhelming majority of delegates as President Kuchma cut a thin approach me in an attempt to convince me unification of all of Ukrainian Orthodoxy attending the Holy Sobor on Friday, on blue/yellow ribbon strung across the to unite with Patriarch Dymytriy. The split October 20, at St. Volodymyr's into a united Particular Orthodox Church." building's entrance. happened for one reason only: Filaret, in Cathedral, the seat of the Church. A number of Parliament deputies The more than four dozen present our spiritual world is a criminal," said However, the election of Metropolitan then streamed into the four-story Bishop Mefodiy at the Feodosiyan (Continued on page 17) Filaret, who has called for unity among building with white facade, whose the three Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, exterior and interior have been exten­ caused a further schism in the Ukrainian sively renovated. Inside, the presi­ Orthodox Church, as four hierarchs from dent presented Ambassador Zlenko western and central Ukraine broke away several housewarming gifts, includ­ to protest the sole candidacy of Filaret ing paintings for the mostly barren for patriarch. All five alternate candi­ walls. After brief speeches by the dates had withdrawn their names. president and the ambassador, the The four Orthodox leaders - guests and the officials toasted the Metropolitan Andriy of Halych, the admin­ new Mission and its workers with istrator of the Ivano-Frankivske Eparchy; champagne, and the short proceed­ Archbishop Vasyl of Ternopil and ings ended, everyone hurrying to the Buchach; Archbishop Roman of Vinnytsia Waldorf Astoria for an official ban­ and Bratslav; and Bishop Mefodiy, the quet honoring President Kuchma. administrator of the Khmelnytsky and In a curious move, but one Mr. Kamianets-Podilsky Eparchy - denounc­ Zlenko said was made to simplify ing Metropolitan Filaret's candidacy on and quicken the opening, the build­ October 19, left the UOC-KP and joined ing was blessed in a separate ceremo­ the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox ny the previous Friday. That day Church headed by Patriarch Dymytriy of Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Basil Kyiv and all-Ukraine. Losten and Ukrainian Orthodox The lay delegates from these Bishop Antony, along with the Rev. eparchies also left the sobor, bringing the Patrick Paschak of St. George's number of expected delegates from 198 | Danylo Yanevsky (Continued on page 9) to 174. Of these 174, 160 voted via Metropolitan Filaret during his enthronement as patriarch of the Ukrainian secret ballot for Metropolitan Filaret, Orthodox Church — Kyiv Patriarchate. THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1995 No. 44 OSCE roundtable in Yalta focuses on Crimean Tatars Black Sea Fleet power cutoff death sentences were handed down last year by Orest Deychakiwsky Central Asia - would like to return to and 60 carried out. One execution was com­ their homeland. SEVASTOPIL — Local power suppliers pleted this year. (OMRI Daily Digest) The situation of the Crimean Tatars was The return of the Tatars - who are living began cutting power to the headquarters of recently the main subject of a three-day in tough economic conditions - has aggra­ the Black Sea Fleet on October 25, forcing Chornobyl to serve as waste storage site conference held in Yalta by the vated tensions with local Crimean authori­ it to switch over to auxiliary generators. Organization for Security and Cooperation ties and the local population. This past "Because of its huge debt we have had to KYIV — Mykhaiko Umanets, chair­ in Europe. OSCE High Commissioner on June, for instance, there were demonstra­ cut off power to the fleet's headquarters, all man of the State Committee for Nuclear National Minorities Max van der Stoel, tions in two Crimean cities after two Tatars the ships and some of the buildings at mili­ Energy, said Ukraine will build a storage who has been a frequent visitor to Ukraine were allegedly killed by the local Russian tary bases," said Volodymyr Pechnikov, the site for nuclear waste on the grounds of the over the last few years, chaired the meet­ mafia. The demonstrators protested inade­ head of the local electric company. He said incomplete fifth and sixth reactors at the ing on the repatriation and accommoda­ quate police protection of the Tatar popu­ the fleet, disputed between Ukraine and Chornobyl power station, Infobank report­ tion of deported people. lace against local criminal elements. Russia, had prompted a cutoff by running ed on October 24. Mr. Umanets said 94-95 The OSCE has been active in trying to The Crimean Tatar population, despite up arrears of 700 billion kbv (approximate­ percent of the country's nuclear waste is reduce tensions in the Crimea and has its current difficulties, has shown great ly $3.8 million) this year. However, fleet located at the plant and will continue to be had a mission working in Ukraine since loyalty to independent Ukraine, viewing spokesman Andrei Krylov, denied it had stored there. (OMRI Daily Digest) November 1994. reneged on its payments and said power to the Ukrainian government as the guaran­ Russia ratifies customs union with Belarus The Crimean Tatar situation has tor of their political and cultural rights. ships had been switched off for weeks. added a further complicating dimension Nevertheless, the Ukrainian government Ukrainian Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk MOSCOW — The Russian State Duma to the tensions in Ukraine's restive has been able to provide only limited is due to visit Russian Prime Minister ratified a customs union and free trade zone Crimean peninsula, the majority of assistance to the returnees. Viktor Chernomyrdin in Moscow for anoth­ agreement with Belarus on October 20, whose population is ethnic Russian. According to statistics cited at the Yalta er round of talks on the future of the fleet.