www.ukrweekly.com Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.c,, a fraternal non-profit association I ramian Week! У Vol. LIV No. 5 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1986 25 cents ssss KGB chief Fedorchuk reassigned; Mace named famine commission director Shcherbytsky may be ousted Commission expects to begin work in February Mr. Fedorchuk, a Ukrainian, was WASHINGTON — Dr. James E. promoted from his position as KGB Mace of Harvard University's Ukrai- chief in Ukraine to chief of the entire nian Research Institute was named staff USSR's KGB by Yuri V. Andropov in director of the U.S. government's the summer of 1982. He was transferred Ukraine Famine Commission on Ja- to the Interior Ministry post the follow- nuary 29. ing December. According to Dr. Mace, the famine The new head of the Interior Ministry, commission's office is to be opened in which is responsible for the regular early February. The U.S. Commission police, is provincial party leader Alek- on the Ukraine Famine was created to sandr V. Vlasov, 53, who held several, conduct a study of the 1932-33 famine in posts in the Northern Caucasus. Ukraine, analyze its causes and submit a The Washington Post reported that final report on its findings to the since Mr. Gorbachev took power, 19 of Congress. 59 ministers have been changed, as well The commission, which has been as 45 of 159 regional party first secreta- allocated $400,000, is composed of ries and four of 14 republics' party first members of the executive and legislative secretaries. branches of the U.S. government, as On the Council of Ministers, com- well as six public members from the posed of ministers, chairmen of state Ukrainian American community. committees and other government The three commission members re- officials, 37 of 113 positions have been presenting the U.S. departments of filled with new people. State, Education, and Health and Mr. Fedorchuk's transfer to another Human Services, two senators and four First secretary Volodymyr Shcherbyt- unspecified post was made in Moscow members of the House were appointed Dr. James E. Mace sky of the Communist Party of Ukraine: on January 25. There is some specula- last year. January 9 with staffers of Rep. Mica in on the way out? tion that Mr. Fedorchuk will replace The public members will be appoint- Volodymyr Shcherbytsky as first secre- ed by the commission chairman, Rep. regard to setting up the famine commis- JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A major tary of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Dan Mica (D-Fla.) sion office and to discuss the commis- leadership shake-up in the Soviet Union according to The New York Times. Mr. Interviewed over the phone by The sion's powers and other technicalities. has resulted in the dismissal of 67-year- Shcherbytsky has been depicted as a Weekly before his departure for Wash- He also noted that although the old Vitaliy V. Fedorchuk from the post leftover from the Brezhnev era. ington, Dr. Mace said he had met on (Continued on page 16) of interior minister. He is awaiting a "new appointment," reported TASS, the official Soviet nfews agency. Deschenes Commission's USSR trip faces court challenge by Michael B. Bociurkiw groups or individuals and the federal Moscow for delivery to the appropriate government are heard by this court. Soviet officials. JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Several East Ordinarily, decisions handed down by Mr. Pozdnyakov told reporters in TASS says Medvid European groups are going to court to the Federal Court of Canada can be November that he expects the Office of force a commission investigating appealed to a higher court. the Procurator General of the Soviet alive and well alleged Nazi war criminals in Canada to Michael Meighen, co-counsel for the Union — the body that will consider the allow their counsel to travel to the Deschenes Commission, called the request — to accept the commission's JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Ukrainian Soviet Union on a fact-finding mission. groups' decisions to go to court "prema- conditions. Seaman Myroslav Medvid, 25, whose The federal government commission, ture." But the groups who have asked the defection attempt in the waters of the headed by Quebec Superior Court "We haven't yet heard from the Federal Court of Canada to hold a Mississippi River was twice thwarted Judge Jules Deschenes, announced in Russians on whether the trip can pro- hearing on the trip say they are concern- by U.S. officials, is alive and well, November that it would — under ceed," the Toronto lawyer said during a ed about the difficulties involved in and living with his parents outside of specific conditions — like to travel to telephone interview. verifying the accuracy of Soviet-supplied Lviv, Ukraine, if reports by the the Soviet Union to collect evidence Mr. Meighen added that no ruling evidence. The groups, represented by Soviet news agency TASS are to be against as many as 15 war crimes has yet been made by Mr. Deschenes on lawyer John Sopinka,are outraged over believed. suspects living in Canada. whether the groups' counsel will be the fact that the commission has not In a TASS release issued on Ja- The Soviet Union has not yet re- allowed to be present at evidence- invited the Canadian suspects to send nuary 22, the news service noted that sponded to the commission's request to gathering in the Soviet Union. their own lawyers on the trip to repre- Mr. Medvid is living with his parents travel there to collect evidence. Because of the uncertainty surround- sent their interests. in the village of Selets, in western The groups that have petitioned the ing the commission's trip to the Soviet "Individuals who are named — either Ukraine, and that he plans to register Federal Court of Canada are the Ukrai- Union, Mr. Meighen said he felt the publicly or privately — should have the for school. nian Canadian Committee, the Baltic groups should not go to court for a right to send counsel on the trip," said TASS also quoted Mr. Medvid as Federation of Canada, the Estonian ruling until after the Soviets give the go- Myron Spolsky, who heads the Mani- citing a quotation from Mark Twain: Central Council, the Latvian National ahead for the trip. toba branch of the Ukrainian Civil "rumors of my death are greatly Federation in Canada and the Lithua- Eugene Pozdnyakov, a spokesperson Liberties Commission. exaggerated." nian Canadian Community. for the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, said Mr. Spolsky said in a telephone The TASS story also repeated the A date for hearing the group's appli- in an interview that the commission's interview from Edmonton that he Soviet version of the Medvid story, cation was to have been set on January request to travel to the Soviet Union is remains skeptical about how Mr. De- saying that the sailor had fallen 30. still stalled in the Soviet bureaucracy. schenes will respond to the groups' overboard while working on the The Federal Court of Canada is a The letter was apparently given late last request to be present at evidence- Soviet grain freighter, Marshal Ko- superior court which deals exclusively year to the Canadian External Affairs gathering in the Soviet Union. niev. with federal jurisdiction. Therefore, all Department, which sent it by diploma- "Mr. Deschenes has not come out cases arising out of a dispute between tic pouch to the Canadian Embassy in (Continued on page 16) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1986 No. 5 A GLIMPSE OF SOVIET REALITY Toronto businessman produces Oblast party conferences in Ukraine anti-Soviet music video TORONTO — A Toronto busi- by Mr. Kerr. leave leadership basically intact nessman has produced a music video The video will be made available to based on the Soviet Union's national interested buyers for about $20, and by Roman Solchanyk it should become clear whether Mr. anthem that he hopes will change the the single record for $3. Shcherbytsky stays or goes. What is way teenagers act at anti-Soviet The words in "The Dance of All 25 oblast Communist Party clear now, however, is that the criticism conferences as well as the Kiev City demonstrations. Freedom" are sung by Mr. Kerr, who that was voiced at the Kharkiv Oblast Colin Kerr — a former golf pro- once made a record featuring the Party conference in Ukraine have now Party conference left the leadership ended, leaving the leadership in these fessional, cabaret owner and adver- "Mynah Bird Song" and the "Mynah there unscathed. With one exception, tising agency boss — says his new Bird Hop," that sold 40,000 copies in regional party organizations basically all five secretaries elected in January unaffected by the widespread personnel video will have teenagers dancing at Canada and nearly 25,000 in the 1984 — including First Secretary V. P. anti-Soviet protests rather than United States. changes associated with CPSU General Mysnychenko and Second Secretary V. Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's drive to burning the Soviet flag, according to The reproduction of the Soviet M. Paramanov — were re-elected. The Globe and Mail. Union's national anthem was pro- improve economic efficiency, enforce Indeed, a comparison of the results of discipline and weed out corruption. Mr. Kerr added that he also ex- duced by computer sounds, and the the 1984 elections with the current pects teenagers in Eastern Europe video footage was taken from news The stability of the Ukrainian Com- returns shows that 21 of the 25 oblast munist Party organization at the re- dancing to smuggled tapes and re- broadcasts, documentaries and party first secretaries plus Kiev, or cords of his song as they did with the movies.