Ukrainian World Congress begins to assert its role as voice of Ukrainians (06/06/99)

Ukrainian World Congress begins to assert its role as voice of Ukrainians

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - The first plenary meeting of the Ukrainian World Congress Secretariat was held at its headquarters on May 14-15 and, judging from the report of President Askold Lozynskyj, the umbrella body is furthering his vision of the UWC as a voice for embattled Ukrainians around the world.

On April 26, the UWC sent a nine-point document outlining diasporan concerns to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko and the other candidates in this fall's presidential elections (Oleksander Moroz, Yevhen Marchuk and Hennadii Udovenko), excluding Natalia Vitrenko.

In the first point, the UWC asserted its claim as the sole representative of the diaspora. "Relations should be engaged directly between Ukraine's government structures and the UWC; other interventions are unnecessary," the memo read.

In the second point, the UWC affirmed that the same protections that Ukraine affords its minorities should be extended to Ukrainian minorities in the Russia, Poland, Belarus, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere.

In the third point, the UWC praised the Ukrainian government's resettlement program which reversed the Soviet deportation of Crimean Tatars, and encouraged Kyiv to mount a similar effort to bring about the return of Ukrainians to Ukraine from lands to which they were deported.

In the fifth point, the UWC called for a ban on political parties whose members advocate measures inimical to Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity.

The remaining points included demands for official recognition of veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army; expressions of concern that the use of Ukrainian as the state language was being selectively enforced, that the defunct USSR's state symbols were still being used by certain government agencies and that "Soviet holidays" were being officially celebrated; and a denunciation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate for sowing discord among Ukraine's faithful.

International correspondence

According to the UWC president's report, a number of memoranda were also sent to Ukraine's agencies and various governments around the world.

On May 6, a missive was sent to President Kuchma to express outrage at the assault on Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Partiarchate in Mariupol and to denounce the Moscow patriarch's plans to lead a pilgrimage through Ukrainian territory for the purpose of political provocation.

In March, a letter was directed to the President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria seeking the release of Ukrainian crew members of a ship held hostage by a renegade Nigerian official.

Also in March, Mr. Lozynskyj and General Secretary Victor Pedenko dispatched a letter to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder seeking further information about a fund set up to compensate the Nazi regime's former slave laborers and presenting the UWC as "the representative organization for Ukrainians residing outside Ukraine."

Mr. Lozynskyj reported that the effort to secure observer status for the UWC with the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) was proceeding, but more slowly than previously hoped.

Such status requires NGOs to be legally incorporated in a particular country, which the UWC had not yet done. At the plenary meeting of May 14-15, it was agreed that the UWC will be formally registered in Canada, but a "U.S. section" will also be given legal standing.

Mr. Lozynskyj conceded that the timetable for securing U.N. observer status would be shifted. He had earlier hoped to meet a U.N. deadline for applications for observer status this June.

Presidential travel

Mr. Lozynskyj outlined his schedule for upcoming visits to Ukrainian communities around the world, in keeping with the practice initiated by his predecessor, Dr. Dmytro Cipywnyk.

The new UWC president said he would tour Romania in May, and the Russian Federation and Kazakstan in August - all prior to the next meetings of the UWC presidium scheduled for the fall.

Mr. Lozynskyj said he plans to visit Hungary and Slovakia in November. The sojourn in the latter country could involve controversy, as the UWC is studying the situation faced by the Ukrainian minority there. Some local activists have complained that Ukrainians face discrimination and repressive measures denying them opportunities for education.

The most immediate trip the UWC president plans to make is to Kyiv to attend general meetings of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council (UWCC) in Ukraine's capital, along with Mr. Pedenko and UWC Vice-President Maria Szkambara.

Hard line on UWCC reasserted

In February, the UWC Presidum accepted UWCC palliatives regarding name changes to its official organ and the organization used as its administrative wing (the formerly KGB-dominated Ukraina Society) and agreed to send members of its executive for full participation in UWCC's meetings on May 20-25.

However, if UWCC President Ivan Drach expected Mr. Lozynskyj's administration to deviate from the course set by its predecessor, he was most likely disappointed.

On May 14, Ukrainian Canadian Congress President Evhen Czolij submitted a two-part memorandum on UWC-UWCC relations and the nature and structure of the UWCC itself. The section dealing with UWC participation in the Kyiv-based organization was adopted unanimously, but more radical proposals calling for a change in the UWCC's focus and structure were dropped.

Nevertheless, provisions mandating recognition of the UWC as the sole representative of the diaspora within the UWCC, full UWC participation in determining the date and location of meetings, the setting of budgets and accounting, as well as strict controls on by-laws matters, will represent a dramatic shift for the UWCC if they are adopted.

Representatives of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America agreed to drop their direct membership in the UWCC and encourage other U.S.-based organizations to do so as well.

After the plenary meetings, Mr. Lozynskyj was lighthearted and dismissive about prospects for the adoption of the UWC's recommendations in Kyiv. "[The May 20-25 meetings are] probably going to be a waste of five days, but [the UWC's] position will be made clear," he said, adding, "It's often said that Ukraine is a fairy tale land [kazkova kraina]," the UWC president quipped, "and in my estimation the UWCC is somewhat of a fairy tale organization."

Financial strains resurface

UWC's Chief Financial Officer William Sametz reported that the world umbrella body is once again facing difficulties in meeting its operational costs because of lackadaisical submission of dues by member-organizations. Of the $100,000 expected for the year's first quarter, only a paltry $10,000 has made it to the world umbrella body's coffers. Mr. Sametz said this has been offset somewhat by local fund-raising drives, such as the effort mounted by Chicago's Julian Kulas.

Mr. Sametz commented that many of those who sought an expansion of the annual budget beyond $240,000 at the December congress in order to allow the UWC to be "world-class" were clearly not showing the requisite commitment to the organization.

The possibility of a need to relocate the UWC's headquarters arose earlier this year because of changes in the financial situation at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation (UCAF), landlords of UWC's offices since the early 1980s. General Secretary Pedenko reported that the UWC executive held a special meeting with members of the UCAF board on May 14. He said that the matter had not yet been resolved, but that negotiations are ongoing. Mr. Lozynskyj expressed confidence that the UWC offices are likely to remain where they are.

Successions, resignations, etc.

The Ukrainian Catholic eparch of Toronto, Bishop Cornelius Pasichny, reported that the chairmanship of the UWC's Religious Council passed to him in March, after a term under Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Bishop Yuriy Kalishchuk, the first chairman after the ecumenical body was revived in May 1996.

Christina Isajiw stepped down as chair of the Commission on Human and Civil Rights (CHCR), submitting her resignation to the UWC executive prior to the plenary meetings. Mr. Lozynskyj said a search for a replacement would be conducted, and he expressed his wish that a list of candidates be prepared for the next meeting of the UWC executives in June. The veteran activist told The Weekly she quit due to the UWC's unwillingness to allocate the necessary funds for the hiring of a paid CHCR staffer.

Ms. Isajiw said that, while other UWC officials contended volunteers might be found to perform the required research, lobbying and liaison, her search for such individuals among students and professionals in the area turned up dismissive attitudes about the UWC's current human rights effort.

Ms. Isajiw said the UWC lacks a general effort to attract youth and veteran activists in the field, and its refusal to hire a professional showed a lack of commitment to the issues.

"Volunteers are necessary and should be tapped into, but they should work together under the supervision and coordination of a professional," the outgoing CHCR chair said.

General Secretary Pedenko reported that the project to set up an improved UWC website had lost some momentum. Oksana Horikh, chair of the Congress of Ukrainian Youth Organizations, had volunteered to spearhead this effort and provide a report at the May 14-15 session. The website committee struck in February met only once and has accomplished little. Ms. Horikh did not attend the plenary meetings and had not returned The Weekly's calls at press time.

UWC Sports Commissioner Laryssa Barabash Temple was unable to attend the meetings, but her submitted report was read to the assembly. It was noted that there would be no organized diaspora participation in this year's inaugural All-Ukrainian Games because the Ukrainian Sports Fedearation of the U.S. and Canada (USCAK) had determined that "scheduling of competitions was awkward and incompatible with diaspora participation."

The UWC Scholarly Council, headed by Dr. Lubomyr Wynar, held a special session on May 16, at which the prospects of coordinating the work of diaspora academics and academics in the field of Ukrainian studies was discussed.

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