ACTION ITEMS (10/30/94)

ACTION ITEMS

On Sunday, October 23, "60 Minutes" aired a segment titled "The Ugly Face of Freedom" in which, among other things, Ukrainians were slurred as "genetically anti-Semitic"; Ukrainian history was distorted; and Petliura, Shukhevych and Bandera were depicted as anti-Semitic. This maliciously racist segment of "60 Minutes" was defamatory and journalistically irresponsible.

1. We urge all Ukrainian Americans to telephone and fax CBS headquarters in New York to express their indignation and demand that correspondent Morley Safer be dismissed.

Following are useful telephone/fax numbers and the CBS News address:

CBS comment line, (212) 975-3248.
CBS fax number, (212) 975-1893.
"60 Minutes" fax number, (212) 757-6975.
Eric W. Ober, President, CBS News Division, CBS Inc., 524 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

Suggested comment or letter: Your blatantly defamatory segment on anti-Semitism in the Ukrainian city of Lviv attained new levels of journalistic irresponsibility and inaccuracy. You should dismiss Mr. Safer for his unprecedented expressions of racism, bigotry and journalistic irresponsibility, in particular for his remarks impugning Ukrainians as "genetically anti-Semitic." Hate speech of this type is unacceptable in civilized society, particularly in America. Please issue an updated, corrected "60 Minutes" report on ethnic relations in present-day Ukraine.

2. Those who reside in locations with CBS affiliates should communicate with the affiliates directly, requesting a meeting with the Ukrainian American community. At the meeting, representatives of the community should insist on the affiliates pressuring CBS in New York and "60 Minutes" to air a retraction and an apology, and to dismiss Morley Safer for racism.

3. Should affiliates refuse to meet with community representatives, picketing may be used to apply additional pressure.

- submitted by the Ukrainian National Information Service

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council are informing the Ukrainian American community and its friends that the two sponsors of the anti-Ukrainian racist segment of "60 Minutes" were the Democratic State Committee for Cuomo, (212) 754-1994, and Sprint, (913) 624-6000.

We urge all Ukrainian Americans and our friends to telephone the above, advising them of our disappointment over their sponsorship of this racist program.

Furthermore we urge everyone to make their disappointment felt both at the ballots and in choosing their long-distance carrier.

- submitted by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council

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