1977 - A Look at the Year that Was (12/31/77)

1977 - A Look at the Year that Was

At midnight later today the books will be closed on the year nineteen hundred and seventy-seven, and after you tally up all the columns, 1977 was a year that accentuated the defense of Ukraine. It was filled with accounts of countless brave men and women raising their voices for Ukraine's rights only to fall prey to KGB's terror.

The repression and opposition in Ukraine was also met with an equally intense defense effort by Ukrainians in the free world. Especially in the United States and Canada, Ukrainians worked through their respective governments to secure intercessions on behalf of incarcerated and persecuted human and national rights activists in Ukraine.

1977 began with a ray of hope for repressed peoples around the world with the inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th President of the United States.

Mr. Carter, fulfilling a campaign pledge, gave new meaning and dimension to human rights as early as his Inaugural Address. He made human rights an "integral element of American foreign policy," and has frequently restated America's commitment to the pursuit of human rights the world over.

Mr. Carter said during the inauguration that the desire for freedom and human rights is spreading across the world, emphasizing that because the American people are a free nation they must promulgate human rights everywhere.

Within the next four weeks, President Carter turned phrases into actions when on Monday, January 31, he recommitted America to human rights in a statement after his conference with Anatoly Dobrynin, the Soviet ambassador to the United States, and, in an unprecedented move, responded to a letter previously received from Dr. Andrei Sakharov one of the leading human rights spokesmen in the Soviet Union.

After conferring with Dr. Dobrynin, President Carter made it clear that America would not back down from its commitment to strengthen human rights in the Soviet Union and elsewhere in the world.

"We are not attacking the Soviet Union, but we are pressing our commitment on human rights," explained Mr. Carter.

At the same time it was revealed that on the day after the inauguration, Dr. Sakharov addressed a letter to President Carter, asking him to continue "efforts for the release" of 15 Soviet dissidents, among them nine Ukrainians.

Among the Ukrainians included in the list were: Ivan Svitlychyn, Rev. Vasyl Romaniuk, Pastor Georgi Vins, Petro Ruban, Valentyn Moroz, Oleksander Serhiyenko, Yevhen Proniuk and Vasyl Fedorenko. Also included was Dr. Mikhail Stern, the Jewish Ukrainian physician-dissident who was subsequently released from incarceration.

"It is very important that the U.S. President should continue efforts for the release of those people who are already known to the American public and that these efforts not be in vain," wrote Dr. Sakharov. "We cannot cross out any of the names of this list."

On February 17, 1977, President Carter's response was received by the American embassy in Moscow. This was the first time that an American Chief Executive directly communicated with a Soviet dissident.

"I want to express my appreciation to you for bringing your thoughts to my personal attention," wrote Mr. Carter. "Human rights is a central concern of my administration."

President Carter wrote that Dr. Sakharov could remain "assured that the American people and government will continue our firm commitment to promote respect for human rights not only in our own country, but also abroad."

"We shall use our good offices to seek the release of prisoners of conscience, and we will continue our efforts to shape a world responsive to human aspirations in which nations of differing cultures and histories can live side by side in and justice," wrote President Carter.

The strong American rededication to human rights and the exchange of letters notwithstanding, the Soviet government pressed on with its violations of human and national rights in Ukraine.

The Kiev Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords, headed by poet Mykola Rudenko, continuously reported on Soviet violations in Ukraine and became the target of KGB attacks.

In mid-January, the Helsinki Guarantees for Ukraine Committee, the Kiev group's American counterpart, received the first documents of the Ukrainian Helsinki watchers, entitled Declaration and Memorandum no. 1. The information contained in the documents testified to the widespread repressions and arrests of Ukrainians.

The signers of the documents demanded that Ukraine participate in international conferences independently of Moscow, and scored the Soviet Union for blatantly disregarding the human rights provisions of the 1975 Final Act of the Helsinki Accords.

These documents were presented to many American legislators, who took it upon themselves to raise their cases in the U.S. congress, and subsequently at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

In a word, the reprisals were severe. On February 5, 1977, the KGB arrested the first two members of the Kiev Group - Mykola Rudenko and Oleksiy Tykhy. They were sentenced in early July to a total of 27 years incarceration and exile. Rudenko received a 7-year prison sentence and five years exile, while Tykhy was sentenced to ten years behind bars and five years exile.

On Saturday, April 23, two more members of the monitoring group fell victim to the KGB - Mykola Matusevych and Myroslav Marynovych. Their trials is still pending.

Just as the year was drawing to a close, word was received from Ukraine that the Soviet regime is intensifying its attempts to destroy all remnants of the Kiev group.

On Monday, December 12, Lev Lukianenko and Oles Berdnyk, the reported acting head of the Kiev group, were arrested. Several days later, Petro Vins, the son of the incarcerated Baptist leader, Pastor Georgi Vins, was also arrested.

Other members of the Kiev group were subjected to searches, detentions and harassments.

Repressions on both sides of the barbed wire fence were in practice in the Soviet Union. Families and friends of incarcerated Ukrainian dissidents experienced harassment by the secret police, while inside the prisons and concentration camps, political inmates were placed in solitary confinement, beaten or threatened with psychiatric imprisonment for merely demanding their rights as human beings.

Incarcerated human rights activists also stepped up their attempts to seek the status of political prisoners. Others have renounced their citizenship. In January we received word that 15 more political prisoners have renounced Soviet citizenship, raising the number to some two dozens Ukrainians who have done so.

During the Bicentennial year plus one, Ukrainian Americans learned that a woodcarver in Ukraine attempted to make a Bicentennial present for America, but it was discovered and he was arrested and subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. Petro Ruban was included in Sakharov's letter to President Carter, as well as his letter to AFL-CIO President George Meany. Dr. Sakharov wrote to Mr. Meany that "it is a matter of honor for America to achieve the release of Ukrainian artist Petro Ruban."

American labor this year was also a staunch supporter of dissidents in the Soviet Union. With Vladimir Bukovsky as their rallying figure, American workers denounced U.S. economic assistance to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe that is not conditional on human rights.

The situation in Ukraine was described to Ukrainian Americans by several released human rights advocates, among them Andrew Grigorenko, Dr. Mikhail Stern, Bukovsky and Ludmyla Alekseyeva.

Ukrainians in Ukraine are doing what they can to help themselves in these trying times, but two Ukrainian women political prisoners placed their fates with Ukrainian Americans.

Stefania Shabatura and Nina Strokata said that dissidents will remain behind bars if Ukrainians in the West do not immediately intensify their defense actions.

In a telephone call to the Helsinki Guarantees for Ukraine Committee Wednesday, February 16, the two said: "M. Rudenko and O. Tykhy will remain behind bars unless Ukrainians find in themselves the determination, strength and courage to stand up in their defense. All of us, who were and remain political prisoners in the Soviet Union, hope that our countrymen will energetically defend all Ukrainian patriots."

Ukrainian Americans, among other settlements, did not need to be reminded. Ukrainians on the North American continent have always led the free world in defense actions, and with this appeal just increased their efforts.

In New York, TUSM youths staged several demonstrations in defense of Rudenko, Tykhy and other political prisoners, each time receiving press coverage about their actions.

In Washington, D.C., the Ukrainian National Association initiated in mid-May a human rights week, which culminated on Wednesday, May 18, when some 200 UNA'ers from across the country visited their senators and congressmen and told them of the situation in Ukraine. That evening many U.S. legislators met with the entire group and discussed the plight and plans of action.

In New York, the local UCCA branch formed the Ukrainian Defense Committee, which initiated many actions on behalf of Ukrainians, raising 18,000 petitions to area senators and congressmen in defense of Rudenko, Tykhy, Moroz, and Shukhevych. Other communities did likewise.

Finally on September 18, 1977, some 20,000 Ukrainians from the eastern seaboard of the U.S., came to New York to participate in a manifestation and demonstration in defense of the rights of Ukraine.

All these actions paved the way for U.S. legislators to introduce resolutions on behalf of Ukrainian dissidents. Reps. Millicent Fenwick, Christopher Dodd, Edward Koch, and others, and Sens. Jackson, Moynihan, Schweiker, Humphrey, Williams, among others, led the field in this campaign.

Most resolutions and Ukrainian American efforts focused on securing American intercession for Ukrainian political prisoners during the CSCE talks in Belgrade. On Monday, December 12, their efforts were rewarded. R. Spencer Oliver, a U.S. official at the talks, specifically raised the question of Mykola Rudenko and Oleksa Tykhy during one of the sessions of the talks.

Last year, while Ukrainians in the Soviet Union were struggling against Moscow, Ukrainians in Poland also began to protest against Polish discrimination.

In Toronto, word was received that Ukrainians there also formed a group to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Accords, and scored the lack of rights for the Ukrainian minority in Poland.

As we enter the new year, our community must be prepared for an even more intensive campaign in defense of our brothers in Ukraine.

In the human rights arena, the year ended almost the way it began. At a press conference on December 15th and a television interview December 28th, President Carter again stressed that human rights was an "integral element" of his administration.

While human rights was the major concern of Ukrainians in 1977, they were also earnestly working on the further development of their community.

In 1976 it was pianist Thomas Hrynkiv, and in 1977 it was Metropolitan Opera basso Paul Plishka, who made a welcome appearance on the Ukrainian cultural scene. While being a star at the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Plishka rediscovered his roots and eagerly appeared at a Ukrainian function.

The UNWLA Ukrainian Museum in New York City, already well known by Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians, continued to display the heritage of Ukrainian people. With an Easter exhibit in the spring and a textile and embroidery display in the fall, the museum captured many praiseworthy reviews in local newspapers.

The popularity of this museum is growing by leaps and bounds, with visitors flocking to its doors at 203 Second Avenue daily.

Festivals have always been a mainstay in the Ukrainian community. In Dauphin, Man., the Canada's National Ukrainian Festival was held for the 12th consecutive year with the annual participation of tens of thousands of visitors from Canada and the U.S. A monument in honor of the Rev. Nestor Dmytriw, the work of sculptor Leo Mol, was exected on the banks of the Drifting River, courtesy of the UNA in honor of Ukrainian pioneers.

Philadelphia's Ukrainian festival held during the summer months is becoming an annual event in the city of Brotherly Love, while in New York City, Ukrainians held the second annual Seventh Street Fair with some 10,000-15,000 people viewing the displays, munching on Ukrainian cuisine, and watching Ukrainian dancers doing their thing.

A year-round center of Ukrainian culture in the Catskill Mountains in New York State marked its 25th anniversary in 1977. UNA's resort, Soyuzivka, managed by Walter Kwas, had many face-lifting changes to mark its silver jubilee, along with many bright and innovative programs during the summer months.

Education-wise, Ukrainian youths continued to flock to university-level courses of Ukrainian subjects. Clubs and hromadas at colleges and universities establish Ukrainian courses, while at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute's summer program 159 students attended a four-week session on Ukrainian history, language and literature. This was the highest attendance at HURI.

On November 18, 1977, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America opened the doors of the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) in Washington, D.C. Located in the National Press Building, the UNIS will disseminate news about Ukraine and Ukrainians to journalists, legislators, and community leaders.

Ukrainians in America were also victims of defamation during 1977.

National Geographic published a book, entitled "A Journey Across Russia - The Soviet Union Today," gives a distorted picture of that multi-national empire. The publishers felt the brunt of the Ukrainian protest.

Attempts to brand certain Ukrainians as war criminals came to a head in the past 12 months with an overt attempt to blackmail a senior U.S. diplomat of Ukrainian heritage Constantine Warwariv, a permanent U.S. representative to UNESCO, was approached by Soviet agents in Tbilisi, Soviet Georgia, late in October, who told him if he did not work as a spy for them they would reveal that he was a Nazi collaborator during World War II.

Mr. Warwariv told U.S. officials of the incident, and the American government fired off a strongly worded protest to the Soviet government.

Among other key persons in the news in 1977 were two Americans and one Canadian.

Former Bishop of Stamford for Ukrainian Catholics, Joseph Schmondiuk, became Archbishop-Metropolitan of the Philadelphia Archeparchy, succeeding the late Metropolitan Ambrose Senyshyn who died in 1976.

Metropolitan Schmondiuk's place in Stamford was assumed by Bishop Basil H. Losten, formerly of the Philadelphia Archeparchy.

The installation services were held December 1 and 7, respectively.

In Canada, Norman Cafik, a former member of parliament, was named Minister of State for Multiculturalism by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on September 16th. Mr. Cafik, who is of Ukrainian descent on his father's side, is the second Canadian of Ukrainian descent to be a member of the Federal cabinet.

A deep gash in Ukrainian community life in the free world was left by the demise of such prominent Ukrainians as: Alexis Gritchenko, Prof. Watson Kirkconnell, Prof. Dmytro Chyzhevsky, Archbishop Metropolitan Michael, Bishop Vladimiro, Wolodymyr Kobziar, Prof. Borys Martos, Stepan Lenkawsky, William Kurelek, William Rybak, Oleh Shtul-Zhdanovych, Evhen Lozynskyj, and others.

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