Turning the pages back... November 1, 1998 (10/27/02)

Turning the pages back...

November 1, 1998

It was four years ago that the Ukrainian government first officially acknowledged the legitimacy of the 1918 Western Ukrainian National Republic with a visit to Lviv by President Leonid Kuchma on November 1 to celebrate the WUNR's 80th anniversary. The president brought a large political contingent, including members of the Cabinet of Ministers, national deputies of the Verkhovna Rada and the mayor of Kyiv, Oleksander Omelchenko, who joined his Lviv counterpart, Vasyl Kuibida, on the dais.

Appearing before a packed auditorium of political, cultural and business dignitaries at the Lviv Opera House, President Kuchma recognized the contributions of the western Ukrainian state toward Ukraine's democratic development. "In its significance, political ramifications and impact on the future development of Ukraine, the establishment of the WUNR foretold of the coming freedom," he said. In more than seven years of independence, reported our Kyiv Press Bureau chief, Roman Woronowycz, no Ukrainian government leader had officially acknowledged the Western Ukrainian government, which united with the government of the Ukrainian National Republic in Kyiv on January 22, 1919.

In his address, President Kuchma united the past with the present. He complimented the leaders of the WUNR for putting aside political differences in the interest of building a strong state and called on current political leaders to follow their example. He quoted Symon Petliura, the supreme commander of the Ukrainian National Republic Army and the president of the Directory of the UNR: "Symon Petliura ... said, 'First of all we need a common understanding, without which we will not be able to mobilize for our common cause.' These words are accurate today, as well," said Mr. Kuchma.

The president also placed a wreath at the monument to Taras Shevchenko, located in Freedom Square, where he was officially greeted by nationalistic organizations, including veteran soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA); members of the Ukrainian Kozak Movement in their historical garb; and the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Organization.

Roman Pankevych of the Lviv Brotherhood of the UPA said he hoped that the president would officially acknowledge the World War II Ukrainian freedom fighters' place in Ukrainian history. "The president still has not recognized that we exist. We want a declaration from the Verkhovna Rada. The president can begin that process by initiating a bill."

Source: "Ukraine marks 80th anniversary of Western Ukrainian National Republic," by Roman Woronowycz, The Ukrainian Weekly, November 8, 1998, Vol. LXVI, No. 45.

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