1983: A LOOK BACK: Activity on Capitol Hill (12/25/83)

1983: A LOOK BACK

Activity on Capitol Hill

1983 was marked by an unusual flurry of activity on Capitol Hill in the area of Ukrainian affairs, most notably the 50th anniversary of the Great Famine and human rights. Much of the activity was the result of an intensification of lobbying efforts by Ukrainian community groups, most notably Americans for Human Rights in Ukraine and representatives of the National Committee to Commemorate Genocide Victims in Ukraine, and by the presence in Washington of an increased number of young professionals in government.

On November 17, the House unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 111, which asked President Ronald Reagan to issue a proclamation concerning the Great Famine and which criticized Soviet involvement in the famine. The resolution, which was sponsored by Reps. Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) and Hamilton Fish Jr. (R-N.Y.), had 84 co-sponsors. The measure was submitted to the House by Rep. Clement Zablocki (D-Wisc.), Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, who died of an apparent heart attack 16 days later.

Two days earlier, on November 15, the Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 70, which asked the president to set aside May 28, 1984, for commemorations of the Great Famine. The measure, which was approved by a voice vote, passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 8. It was sponsored by Sens. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) and Peter Domenici (R-N.M.) and had 60 co-sponsors.

In other legislative action, Rep. James Florio (D-N.J.) introduced a bill calling for the formation of a special commission to study the Great Famine. The measure, which was initially introduced as H.R. 3993 on September 27, was reintroduced on November 16 with a total of 62 co-sponsors. It called for the establishment of a 21-member commission composed of member of the House, Senate, various government departments, as well as Ukrainian community and human-rights groups.

In addition, the House on November 18 approved a resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 100, which called on the president to express the government's opposition to the Soviet use of forced labor.

The measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) and had over 150 co-sponsors, expressed the "sense of the Congress" that Soviet forced labor practices were "morally reprehensible."

Earlier, on November 9, a joint hearing on forced labor sponsored by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, concluded with most witnesses, among them representatives of several government agencies, expressing support for the Smith resolution.

Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a November 15 hearing on Soviet agriculture which focused on the artificial famine in Ukraine. Assisting in the preparation of the hearings were members of the newly formed Ukrainian American Caucus, made up of young professionals and government workers in Washington. The hearings, chaired by Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), heard testimony from the Rev. Wolodymyr Bazylewsky, a famine survivor, and from Dr. Katherine Kochno, also an eyewitness. Also testifying were Dr. James Mace of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and Dr. Robert Conquest, well-known Sovietologist and the author of an upcoming book about the famine. In addition, the CSCE and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations held a joint hearing on September 20 examining psychiatric abuse in the Soviet Union.

On November 9, Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.) convened a field hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee, which he chairs, to examine the state of human rights in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Testifying was an 11-member panel of ethnic and religious leaders that included Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, UNA supreme vice-president.

After the hearing, Sen. Percy announced the formation of an Advisory Council on Religious Rights in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Among the council members is Dr. Kuropas.

In other congressional action, 100 congressmen signed a joint letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov urging him to release 78-year-old Helsinki monitor Oksana Meshko, who is currently in exile. The initiator of the letter was Rep. Smith.

In addition, 42 members of the House signed an August 4 letter urging President Reagan to open a U.S. consulate in Kiev, capital of Ukraine. The letter was initiated by Smith and Bernard Dwyer (D-N.J.), urged the president to set aside a day honoring the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. The letter was signed by 68 congressmen and five senators.

Other activities on the Hill included the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence Day, which included a special order in Congress introduced by Rep. Samuel Stratton (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ritter. There was also a special reception.

This year also marked a resurgence of sorts for Captive Nations Week, which of late had been marked by perfunctory presidential proclamations and diminishing official and media interest. The week - July 18-25 - was kicked off by two major addresses, one by Vice-President George Bush, who spoke at a CN Week banquet, and one by U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, who addressed a Capitol Hill luncheon. The following day, July 19, President Reagan addressed some 100 persons, including many ethnic leaders, at a White House ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of Captive Nations Week.

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