Ukraine's Unity Day Holiday Manifests Divisions in Society

Ukraine's Unity Day Holiday Manifests Divisions in Society

INSIDE: • Mykola Riabchuk on selective justice in Ukraine – page 6. • Metropolitan Constantine Bohachevsky, 1884-1961 – page 8. • An artist to watch: pianist Anna Shelest – page 13. THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal Wnon-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXIX No. 5 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2011 $1/$2 in Ukraine Ukraine’s Unity Day holiday manifests divisions in society Olena Harasovska/UNIAN Participants of the Unity Day human chain that stretched across Kyiv’s Paton Bridge to symbolically unite Ukraine on January 22. Unity Day, or “Den Sobornosty” in Ukrainian, has been a national holiday in Ukraine since 1999, when so designated by a presidential decree. Volodymyr Musyak Thousands of Ukrainians gathered on St. Sophia Square to commemorate Unity by Zenon Zawada who formed the financial backbone of for- Day on January 22, 92 years after the Ukrainian National Republic and the Kyiv Press Bureau mer President Viktor Yushchenko’s political Western Ukrainian National Republic declared their unification. campaign – confectionary magnate Petro KYIV – Ukrainians were disunited as Poroshenko and natural gas trader Mykola drew the crowd’s attention and applause, party newspaper,” said Yurii Sytoriuk, the ever on Unity Day, holding three separate Martynenko – were also on Kontraktova which grew loud enough to interfere with party spokesman. “Why no go there and rallies in Kyiv on January 22, the day com- Square. the prayer and visibly irritate Patriarch advertise Svoboda? We used it as party pro- memorating the unification of the Ukrainian Soviet-era dissident Bohdan Horyn Filaret, who kept his distance from the paganda.” National Republic (of central and eastern accused the Yatsenyuk crowd of fulfilling opposition leader for the remainder of the The For Ukraine party, a national-demo- Ukraine) and the Western Ukrainian commands from the Yanukovych adminis- evening. cratic force committed to Euro-Atlantic National Republic in 1919. tration to divide the opposition. Svoboda nationalists officially endorsed integration, took a similar approach, dis- The administration of President Viktor “Perhaps Arseniy Yatsenyuk hasn’t and supported the commemoration on St. patching its leader Viacheslav Kyrylenko to Yanukovych organized a rally on matured to the realization that unity doesn’t Sophia Square, but its activists also attended the event on St. Sophia Square. He declined Independence Square. Supporters of former mean separated national-democratic forces, the Kontraktova Square event, distributing an offer to address the crowd, instead min- Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko took to but their unity for the sake of a grand goal – the party’s newspaper and observing the gling with participants afterwards. St. Sophia Square, the site of the historic saving Ukraine at a time of great danger?” vertep (Nativity Play) being performed there The For Ukraine party officially declaration, while Arseniy Yatsenyuk gath- he wrote in a column published on the by Bohdan Beniuk, a regarded actor and endorsed the Kontraktova event, which Mr. ered those opposed to both leaders at Ukrayinska Pravda website on January 25. Svoboda party member. Kontraktova Square. Meanwhile, those who joined the St. “We sent our people to distribute our (Continued on page 11) The commemoration offered evidence Sophia Square event included opposition that Ukrainian politics has retained its tri- leader Ms. Tymoshenko, former Defense polar structure of those supporting Mr. Minister Anatoliy Grytsenko, former Yanukovych, those supporting Ms. Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk, Human Rights Watch slams West Tymoshenko and those actively opposed to nationalist orator Iryna Farion of the both. The division within the opposition Svoboda party, Mykola Katerynchuk of the benefits the current authoritarian govern- European Party of Ukraine and Mykola for ‘cowardice’ on rights issues ment, observers said. Kokhanivskyi of the Congress of Ukrainian “The government is interested in support- Nationalists. RFE/RL HRW also charged Western leaders, ing the emergence of other opposition forc- The event was organized by the particularly U.N. Secretary-General Ban An international rights group has Ki-moon, European Union foreign poli- es,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, board chair- Committee to Defend Ukraine, which accused Western powers of not doing man of the Penta Center for Applied includes the Batkivshchyna party led by Ms. cy chief Catherine Ashton, and U.S. enough to pressure abusive regimes to President Barack Obama with focusing Political Research in Kyiv. He added, “The Tymoshenko, the People’s Rukh of Ukraine protect basic human rights. government can play off the antagonism led by Mr. Tarasyuk, the Svoboda party led too much on dialogue and not enough on The 648-page Human Rights Watch confronting abuses. between different opposition currents.” by Oleh Tiahnybok, the Congress of (HRW) report, a compendium of human Those organizing the rally on St. Sophia Ukrainian Nationalists led by Stepan It condemns as soft the EU’s response rights abuses reported around the world to authoritarian regimes in Uzbekistan Square – where the Act of Union was Bratsiun and the Ukrainian World in the past year, criticizes the democra- declared on January 22, 1919 – lobbed Coordinating Council led by Dmytro and Turkmenistan, denouncing what it cies for their “soft reaction” to repressive calls the bloc’s “obsequious approach” sharp criticism against former Verkhovna Pavlychko. regimes. Rada Chair Yatsenyuk of the Front of Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian toward both countries and arguing that The report singles out the United leaders of authoritarian governments Change party and his allies for splitting the Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriatch (UOC– States, the European Union and the welcome an emphasis on dialogue pro-Western opposition. KP), whose church is under persecution by United Nations for failing to put enough because it is likely to “remove the spot- They shouted “Shame!” at Lilia the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Moscow pressure on abusive governments, high- light from human rights discussions.” Hrynevych of the Front of Change party Patriarchate (UOC–MP), led the Orthodox lighting what it called a “near-universal The report coincides with a rare visit when she addressed the crowd on St. Sophia moleben initiating the event. cowardice in confronting China’s deep- Square. It was interrupted by Ms. Tymoshenko ening crackdown on basic liberties.” (Continued on page 11) The famous “liubi druzi” (dear friends) and her entourage, who arrived late. She 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2011 No. 5 ANALYSIS NEWSBRIEFS Russian Black Sea Fleet Yanukovych reacts to Moscow bombing Thousands denounce Ukraine’s president KYIV – Ukrainian President Viktor KYIV – Thousands of supporters of strengthens presence in Ukraine Yanukovych in a phone conversation Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia by Vladimir Socor Aleksei Kudrin and Fedir Yaroshenko, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Tymoshenko massed in downtown Kyiv on January 22 to denounce her archrival, Eurasia Daily Monitor respectively, started negotiations on imple- condemned acts of terrorism and con- menting the April 21, 2010, agreements. The veyed his condolences over a bomb President Viktor Yanukovych, accusing The Russian navy plans to increase its Russian side seems more interested in quib- attack at Moscow’s Domodedovo him of being a Russian stooge. Some presence on Ukrainian territory by adding bling and stalling, than in delivering. Airport. Mr., Yanukovych ordered 6,000 protesters gathered in St. Sophia urban infrastructure and civilian manpower Mr. Kudrin insisted that “a new agree- Ukraine’s diplomatic missions and spe- square, answering a call by several oppo- to its naval assets in Sevastopol. The com- ment” must be negotiated to define “con- cial services to reinforce measures to pro- sition parties to mark the 92nd anniversa- mand of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet intends to crete terms and parameters, on which imple- tect Ukrainian citizens abroad, the presi- ry of the reunification of eastern and build a housing estate (“mikrorayon”) for mentation would depend.” For his part, Mr. dential press service reported on January western Ukraine. Many carried banners 20,000 personnel of the fleet, their depen- Yaroshenko seemed to plead for overcoming 25. The president also sent his condolenc- calling for the dismissal of both President dents and civilian service providers to the a deadlock: “For us it is important to reach a es to the family of Ukrainian playwright Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Russian fleet in that city. common interpretation, define a common Hanna Mashutina (who wrote under the Azarov. Ms. Tymoshenko asked the The housing estate and associated service methodology for implementing this agree- pseudonym Yablonska), who was killed crowds: “Are you ready to take to the infrastructure is planned to occupy both ment in real life” (Interfax-Ukraine, January in the Moscow airport blast. In addition, streets?” To which the resounding answer sides of Kazachya Bay, alongside the base of 18). the he ordered the Ukrainian Foreign was “Yes.” Dmytro Pavlychko told the a Russian “marine infantry” (amphibious While Kyiv sounds anxious about Affairs Ministry to render any required crowd: “Those who are in power take landing troops) regiment. Moscow delivering “in real life,” Moscow aid to relatives of any Ukrainians killed their orders from the Kremlin.” (Focus The government of Russia

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