Ukraine celebrates 12th anniversary of independence with annual military parade (08/31/03)

Ukraine celebrates 12th anniversary of independence with annual military parade

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Yevhen Marchuk became Ukraine's first minister of defense not wearing the epaulets of rank and the uniform of Ukraine's top military commander to take the kilometer drive down the Khreschatyk to greet the troops under his command when he did so on August 24 to kick off the annual Independence Day military parade.

After a flyover by a squadron of MiG-29 fighter jets, nearly 5,000 troops from all the various segments of Ukraine's extensive armed forces stood stiffly at attention as the former KGB general reviewed them while standing in a 1970s-era convertible Zil limousine, the first of a series in events this day marking 12 years since Ukraine declared independence from Moscow as the Soviet Union tumbled into history.

After moving smartly from the vintage luxury automobile to the review stand, Mr. Marchuk told the crowd of some 20,000 onlookers lined up and down Kyiv's main thoroughfare that the military parade remained the centerpiece of Independence Day activities because it would reassert the military's ready state and its preparedness to defend the country's independence and sovereignty.

"The parade of the armed forces demonstrates the high standards of preparedness," Mr. Marchuk said.

Dressed in a restrained pale green business suit, the recently appointed defense minister reaffirmed the country's move towards democracy and free markets and stressed, "The individual is the highest value of society and the state."

Mr. Marchuk reiterated the position of the government to move Ukraine into NATO, a change of direction he has spurred, and the need for the government as well as the military to undergo extensive reform to pave the way there.

"Ukraine's armed forces must begin to rise to the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance, but it must be done within the country's economic abilities," explained Mr. Marchuk.

President Leonid Kuchma, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn and most of the country's leadership stood alongside Mr. Marchuk as he gave his address. They listened too, as 5,000 soldiers filled Kyiv's downtown area with the words to Ukraine's national anthem, backed by a 1,000-strong military band.

It was the first time the words to the anthem were sung at an Independence Day parade. While the Verkhovna Rada sanctioned the music to "Shche Ne Vmerla Ukraina" several years ago, it only approved the words earlier this year.

Also watching the address were members of the United States Congress, led by Rep. Curt Weldon, chairman of the U.S.-Ukraine Interparliamentary Caucus, who traveled to meet with the country's leadership and to review its progress as well as to observe Independence Day celebrations.

The group, which also included Rep. Corrine Brown of Florida, Nidia Velasquez of New York and Solomon Ortiz of Texas, met with President Kuchma, Prime Minister Yanukovych and Parliament Chairman Lytvyn. Rep. Weldon carried a letter from U.S. President George W. Bush, which gave high praise and expressed thanks to the people of Ukraine for their contribution in support of the international fight against terrorism. Ukraine has supplied nearly 2,000 soldiers to the U.S.-led international stabilization and peacekeeping force in Iraq.

The letter also expressed gratitude for the way relations had developed between Washington and Kyiv over the last year and that next year would see free and transparent elections in Ukraine.

As is usual in Kyiv, a 15-kilometer run on the downtown streets of the capital city followed the parade, which then made way for a series of gala concerts at various venues throughout the city center. A laser show and a huge fireworks display from four different points in the city lit up the nighttime sky in culmination of the day's events.

* * *

In Sevastopol, home of both the Ukrainian navy and Russia's Black Sea Fleet - also known for its continued attachment to Moscow - the unveiling of a monument to Ukrainian Bard Taras Shevchenko highlighted Independence Day events. The event was even more noteworthy in that the building of the monument came only after a fierce political battle within the city council, which had been divided among three proposed monuments. In addition to Shev-chenko, the staid municipal body had seriously considered Russian Empress Cathe-rine II and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

| Home Page |