Ukrainian organizations' representatives meet in hopes of fostering new dialogue (06/17/01)

Ukrainian organizations' representatives meet in hopes of fostering new dialogue

by Andrew Nynka

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - In an attempt to foster dialogue between Ukrainian American organizations that splintered on October 12, 1980, 31 representatives of various groups gathered on May 19 at the Ramada Hotel in East Hanover, N.J., to discuss the need for a single body capable of representing the Ukrainian American community with the issue of power amongst the groups still an important factor in achieving unification.

Originally established on May 24, 1940, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) was created as an umbrella organization for Ukrainian American diaspora organizations. When the UCCA convened in Philadelphia in October 1980, for its 13th Congress, over 20 organizations walked out of the conference hall in protest of what the opposition termed "a one-party hegemony ruling UCCA."

The 27 organizations that protested the by-laws violations and other irregularities of the 13th Congress later united to form the Committee for Law and Order in the UCCA, which on May 14, 1983, formed the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC). After the UACC's first congress unanimously approved its creation in Washington on October 1, 1983, the World Congress of Free Ukrainians (WCFU) granted the UACC membership and recognition as the second central representation of U.S. Ukrainians.

Since the UCCA split more than twenty years ago, repeated attempts at re-unification have failed due to ideological and political differences. Supporters argue that unification of Ukrainian American organizations would enable Ukrainians to speak as one voice in "addressing a Washington presence, in looking after and addressing defamation issues, and caring for the needs of Ukrainians both in the American diaspora and in Ukraine."

Over the last two decades smaller organizations that left the UCCA have found their own voice and now fear that buying into a large umbrella organization would water down their effectiveness. Julian Kulas, of the UCCA, stated that "the smaller organizations are concerned that they may lose some of their autonomy."

Dr. Taras Hunczak of the UCCA asked: "How relevant is their local activity to the needs of the entire Ukrainian community-of one organization in one locale to the needs of all the Ukrainian community?"

"This needs to be the central question. We must answer this," emphasized Dr. Hunczak.

Many of these organizations have stated that in times of crisis, or in addressing defamation of America's nearly three-quarters of a million Ukrainian Americans, there needs to be strong cooperation among organizations.

Mr. Kulas was careful to note that "many of the smaller organizations believe that we are effective, when we currently are not. We need a larger representative body capable of correcting informational faults."

The UCCA's Committee on Unification, composed of Evhen Ivashkiv, Bohdan Mychajliw, Julian Kulas, Jaroslaw Fedun and Taras Hunczak, called the May 19 meeting in order to discuss the need for unification of the Ukrainian American community with the possibility of new by-laws adapted to the needs of the twenty-first century.

Attending the May 19 meeting were representatives from the Ukrainian National Women's League of America, The Washington Group, Ukrainian National Association, Ukrainian American Professionals and Businesspersons Association of New York and New Jersey, UACC, UCCA, Coordinating Committee to Aid Ukraine and others.

When asked what makes this attempt at unification any different from past attempts, Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky of the New York/New Jersey professionals and businesspersons said: "Circumstances have changed; people have realized that the ideological splits are now irrelevant."

He elaborated: "Everybody wants a generally democratic Ukraine with a free market economy and freedom of the press. We are no longer worried about abstract issues. It's much more real and concrete. We're much more on the same side."

Dr. Vitvitsky added: "If we can develop trust in each other, perhaps we can come under one umbrella."

"The need for an umbrella organization is strong, but it comes with a tremendous amount of power. We must ensure that this power is used in a democratic fashion," explained Ihor Kotlarchuk, president of The Washington Group.

The representatives present at the May 19 meeting formed an Organizational Committee composed of representatives of various organizations. Among them were Julian Kulas, chairman, along with Dmytro Hryhorczuk, Dr. Vitvitsky, Irene Kurowyckyj, Ulana Diachuk, Wolodymyr Wolowodiuk, Mr. Kotlarchuk and Vasyl Sosiak with a firm date for a future meeting still undecided.

Mr. Kotlarchuk explained that this is simply an interim step. "This committee is set up to iron out a few issues and to be used as a stepping-stone," he said. "This council would meet and get to know each other. It would explore possibilities of working together with the hope of reaching a consensus, to continue to explore possibilities to act in some sort of unified way."

Ulana Diachuk, president of the Ukrainian National Association, noted that "this is done for the younger generation who will hopefully want this system. They will have an organization to be a force for the diaspora. But we need to get the younger generation involved. This must be something they want to pursue."

In terms of the future for the Ukrainian diaspora, Mr. Kulas seemed to agree with Ms. Diachuk, saying: "I am a big proponent of younger participation. The doors are open; now it's your turn to take over the leadership."

When asked about the next step, Mr. Kulas explained that "if unification worked, we would need to agree on how to revise the by-laws to ensure a fair representation."

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