1988: A LOOK BACK

The Ukrainian diaspora

The major community event for Ukrainians living outside the borders of Ukraine was the World Congress of Free Ukrainians which held its fifth quinquennial conclave in Toronto in November. The results of the congress: Canadian Yuri Shymko, a former member of Parliament, became the youngest president of the WCFU at the age of 48; and ties to Ukraine, especially to the Ukrainian Helsinki Union, fast becoming Ukraine's most important unofficial organization in view of its far-reaching program (as delineated in its Declaration of Principles) and its structure, which encompasses affiliates in various cities in Ukraine and throughout the USSR - were repeatedly stressed.

Bringing together nearly 500 delegates and hundreds of guests, the congress focused on myriad issues of concern to Ukrainians around the globe: human and national rights, defamation, social welfare, youth activity, etc.

Also in 1988, the WCFU-instituted International Commission of Inquiry into the 1932-33 Famine in Ukraine held two sessions. The first took place in Brussels in May, the second in New York City, near the United Nations complex, in late October-early November. The commission, composed of seven jurists and chaired by Prof. Jacob Sundberg of Sweden, is charged with determining whether the famine that ravaged Ukraine in 1932-33 was deliberately created by the Soviet regime to destroy the Ukrainian nation.

In other community news negotiations toward the re-establishment of a single central Ukrainian organization representing the Ukrainian American community continued in 1988. A session in September, attended by representatives of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council and the Conference of Neutral Organizations, was convened to resolve issues that continue to divide the parties: the rights and duties of the honorary president; the positions of executive vice-president and treasurer; the membership of some branches in the national council; and the composition of the nominations committee. The session did not resolve the differences, but participants unanimously agreed to continue deliberations at a later date. Thus, there still is hope.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, meanwhile, held its 15th congress in Washington in October and re-elected Ignatius Bilinsky to head the organization. Congress delegates approved a resolution approving further talks aimed at unity of the Ukrainian American community.

Up north, the Ukrainian Canadian Committee held its annual conference in Saskatoon in September with some 100 delegates of member-organizations, provincial councils and local branches participating. Among the topics of concern were: war criminals in Canada, the internment of Ukrainians in Canada in the years 1914-1920 and Canada-USSR relations.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 25, 1988, No. 52, Vol. LVI

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