Appeal to members of the UNA and all Ukrainians of good will (11/20/94)

Appeal to members of the UNA and all Ukrainians of good will

On Sunday, October 23, the CBS television network aired a segment called "The Ugly Face of Freedom" on "60 Minutes." In that report, Lviv and western Ukraine were presented as a hotbed of anti-Semitism and Nazism. This 15-minute segment, which was based on inaccurate information and timeworn falsifications of the history of Ukraine, slandered not only western Ukrainians but Ukrainians in general. Our Ukrainian community reacted quickly to this defamatory broadcast by phoning and writing protests to CBS. Unfortunately, to this day, CBS has not reacted to these protests by issuing a retraction or an apology; it has merely aired excerpts from several viewers' letters.

This new incident of the defamation of Ukrainians is yet another in a long series of actions by the mass media that discredit the Ukrainian nation and destroy its good name. Now, however, this comes on the eve of the first state visit of President Leonid Kuchma to Washington. This time the defamation was widely disseminated throughout the United States and Canada, because it is known that this particular broadcast of "60 Minutes" was seen by nearly 20 million viewers.

It was in 1985, in response to an increasing barrage of attacks in the mass media and various publications directed against Ukrainians that the Ukrainian National Association created the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Fund. Its goal was to defend the good name of Ukrainians and to counter attempts at accusing the Ukrainian nation of war crimes and collaboration with the Nazis.

Just as it did then, today the UNA believes that we must speak out against all unjust accusations in the name of fairness and in order to defend the good name of all Ukrainians. If we do not act decisively and quickly, this disinformation about the role of Ukrainians during the second world war will continue to be disseminated across the North American continent and to all segments of society.

Significant amounts of money are needed to conduct significant counteractions. That is why the Executive Committee of the UNA has renewed fund-raising for the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Fund. It calls on all members of the UNA and all people of good will to respond generously to this appeal.

Donations will be applied only to the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Fund; donors' names will be announced in 2 UNA publications. Checks should be payable to "Ukrainian National Association/UHDF" (please note "60 Minutes" at the bottom of the check) and sent to: Ukrainian National Association, 30 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ 07302.

Help defend truth and justice. Help defend the good name of Ukrainians.

Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Association

Appeal to readers of The Weekly from Heritage Defense Committee

By now, all of us must be aware of the horrible bigotry and stereotyping displayed by CBS's "60 Minutes" program on October 23. Protests, letters, telefaxes and phone calls immediately engulfed CBS from many of us throughout this country and Canada. All of these have thus far fallen on deaf ears, because CBS has not retracted one iota of its patently false allegations.

Like mushrooms, numerous ad hoc groups of dedicated individuals have sprung up throughout the United States and Canada, many duplicating what others are doing and none acting as a clearinghouse in order to inform all the others what is going on, supplying those who need it with materials, both historical and legal, and formulating a coherent, coordinated master plan for action that will make CBS "cry uncle."

As the editorial in last week's Weekly quite cogently stated, CBS is merely waiting, hoping that, like a conflagration in a pile of straw, our protest will flash and soon die. We must assume the attitude that we "have not yet begun to fight."

At the Ukrainian National Association's Home office, a group of Ukrainian Americans has been meeting every week to coordinate a master plan that will have the desired effect. Among the organizations that send delegates to this ad hoc group, now called the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee, are: the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian veterans, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Ukrainian American Bar Association, Americans for Human Rights in Ukraine, Ukrainian Professionals and Business Persons Association, Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, UNCHAIN and the Ukrainian National Association. Also present are representatives of Ukraine's Mission to the United Nations. Many individuals come out of concern and dedication.

There is no more urgent cause facing Ukrainians and those of Ukrainian descent. Each and every one of us has actually been touched by this program, since it is clear that the 17 to 20 million viewers who regularly watch this program now have an image of Ukrainians as intended to be put forth by CBS. I will not repeat those slanderous characterizations. However, it is clear that our reaction must be rational and coherent and that it must continue.

To that end, the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee, together with the Ukrainian National Association, has revived the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Fund and herewith appeals to all readers to join their local committee by writing letters to CBS and to its sponsors, in protest marches, in writing letters to the editors of your local newspapers, in attempting to obtain equal time from your local CBS affiliate or other TV stations. In short, we cannot lay this issue to rest.

The Ukrainian American Bar Association is considering a lawsuit and is researching the question of whether CBS, or Morley Safer in particular, has committed a hate crime as defined by any number of local or state statutes. The Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee is contemplating placement of full-page ads in various newspapers for purposes of combating this defamation. All of these actions require funds.

For this reason, we appeal to all readers to contribute generously to the Ukrainian National Association/UHDF, or UNA/UHDF, and to forward your checks to: Ukrainian National Association, 30 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. (Please note "60 Minutes" on the bottom of checks.)

UNA/Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee
Nestor Olesnycky, Chairman

| Home Page |