EDITORIAL: January 22 (01/17/93)

EDITORIAL

January 22

This year we mark an important anniversary - the 75th - of the proclamation of an independent Ukrainian state on January 22, 1918. But, though it is a significant anniversary of a significant historical event, there are questions within the Ukrainian community on just how we should commemorate this date.

The reason for the questions, of course, is the fact that Ukraine today has another, more recent, independence anniversary. And Ukraine's government has declared August 24 the date in 1991 when Ukraine's Supreme Council courageously voted to adopt the "Act of Declaration of the Independence of Ukraine" - a national holiday. There are those in the diaspora who would simply stop observing the January 22 independence anniversary, and choose instead the August 24 Independence Day as the focus of our community celebrations.

Indeed, last year, it seemed most of our communities marked the first anniversary of the August 24 act. It remains to be seen how, or if, they will celebrate the January 22, 1918, date when the Ukrainian Central Rada (Council) issued the Fourth Universal that proclaimed a free and independent Ukrainian state. (If the number of advance news items received here at The Weekly is any indication, then the 75th anniversary will be a low-key commemoration.)

We would urge our readers, however, not to forget the January 22 anniversary of 1918, or, for that matter, of 1919, when all Ukrainian lands were unified into one Ukrainian National Republic. Consider this: If there had been no independent Ukrainian state in the earlier part of this century, Ukraine would have been completely stateless for 300 years. Its claim to independent statehood would be seriously undermined. Its populace (or at least a portion of it) would have no recollection of independence and, thus, their aspirations for freedom would not have been as powerful.

The independence proclamation of January 22, 1918, has been the guiding principle of all our community life in the diaspora. It was the legacy of January 22 that compelled us to preserve our Ukrainian culture, our history - the Ukrainian essence. One could go on and on. But the essential question is: Where would we be without the Central Rada's Fourth Universal? Where would Ukraine be?

It is a truism that the past is prologue. Therefore, as the 75th anniversary of the January 22, 1918, proclamation approaches, let us not forget to mark it in some special way (perhaps in ways different from years past, as there is no need for myriad proclamations paying tribute to the freedom-loving Ukrainian people's continued struggle for independence). Let us honor all those who came before us, who paved the way for Ukraine's current status as an independent member of the world community of nations - for today's independence is built upon the sacrifices of many generations. Without the act of January 22, 1918, would there even have been an act of August 24, 1991?

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