1995: THE YEAR IN REVIEW: The noteworthy: events and people (12/31/95)

1995: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

The noteworthy: events and people

Certain notable events and people are not so easily classified. Ergo, this section: the noteworthy of 1995.

Ramon Hnatyshyn, the first Canadian of Ukrainian descent to represent the British Crown in Canada, completed his five-year term as Governor-General on February 6. As Governor-General, Mr. Hnatyshyn represented Queen Elizabeth II in Ottawa. Mr. Hnatyshyn hosted foreign leaders at Rideau Hall, his official Ottawa residence. Among his numerous guests were Ukrainian Presidents Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma. Previously, Mr. Hnatyshyn had been a Conservative member of Parliament and justice minister.
Rabbi David Lincoln of the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City was honored by two community organizations for his efforts in combating false media reports about Jewish life in Ukraine. On March 12, the Ukrainian American Justice Committee (UAJC) and other community organizations presented the rabbi with their first annual Human Relations Award, while on May 10 the New York-based Society of Ukrainian-Jewish Relations honored Rabbi Lincoln for his work in exposing CBS and "60 Minutes."
Ukraine's premier aircraft design bureau suffered a setback on February 10 with the crash of the only prototype of the new Antonov-70 cargo aircaft. This accident set back a promising program that had already attracted much interest from both the Ukrainian and Russian air forces, as well as South American and Asian buyers. The program will continue with the aid of a new Ukrainian-Russian consortium, International Aviamotors. Eventual production runs of the advanced aircraft may exceed 2,000 planes.
Another vestige of the Soviet Union disappeared on April 15, the day international callers started dialing a new country code - 380 - when calling Ukraine. Ukraine was first among the CIS countries to establish a separate code.
On March 26, the community honored Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of the Blue Grass State and firm friend of Ukraine. At the Ukrainians for McConnell fund-raiser, held at the Ramada Hotel in East Hanover, N.J., Sen. McConnell thanked the community for its support and pledged to continue working hard on issues affecting Ukraine. The senator sees a strong and independent Ukraine as vital to U.S. national interests.
In March Ukraine took part for the first time in the U.N. Social Development Summit. This year the Ukrainian delegations, which included both governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as diaspora members, took part in numerous panels, as well as the plenary sessions. Among those speaking at the summit was President Leonid Kuchma, who stressed Ukraine's economic difficulties and the need to find common solutions to economic and social problems, while at the same time recognizing the West's role in supporting Ukraine both morally and materially.
On March 17, the New Jersey Governor's Office notified the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund that it had received the 1995 Governor's Volunteer Award for its work helping to relieve the horrendous consequences of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster. A formal awards ceremony took place on May 5 at the Governor's Mansion.
The May 7 issue of The Weekly carried a feature about Ukrainian prisoners of the Nazi regime, as told by several survivors of the concentration camps. During World War II, Ukrainians could be found in virtually every camp in the Nazi terror scheme. Among those targeted for especially brutal treatment were Ukrainian nationalists, both leaders, such as Stepan Bandera, Andriy Melnyk and Yaroslav Stetsko, and everyday individuals who espoused the cause of Ukrainian national liberation. Survivors recounted the brutality that they witnessed - random and planned executions, tortures, beatings and gassings.
Ukraine's children studying English received a large boost from the McGraw-Hill Companies, which on April 10 started delivering on a promise to supply large quantities of language texts by shipping some 300,000 of them to Kyiv. The donation was facilitated by the Bohdan Stephen Demchuk Foundation and the Demchuk Fund, a Ukrainian government-established group that promotes and supports education in Ukraine. Further shipments are in the works. The fund is named after Bohdan Demchuk, an executive vice-president of PepsiCo who was the point man in bringing Pepsi Cola to the then-USSR in 1972 and who later briefly taught business at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute before succumbing to a heart attack in May 1991.
Accompanying President Bill Clinton on his state visit to Ukraine in May was a veteran Capitol Hill lobbyist and now deputy chief of staff to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Melanne Verveer. Ms. Verveer, a Ukrainian American from Shamokin, Pa., remarked on the very upbeat and warm reception that the president and the U.S. delegation experienced during their stay in Ukraine. The president and first lady were enthralled by the Ukrainian capital's historic sites, while the people, especially youth and students, practically gushed with enthusiasm at Mr. Clinton's visit. For Ms. Verveer the visit was a return to her roots and an emotional one at that.
Is U.S. President Bill Clinton a Kozak or a punk? This photo appeared on the cover of the Russian-language entertainment magazine published in Kyiv during the presidential visit in May. The Washington Post took note of the photo and said it was a Ukrainian version of a punk. We didn't realize that the Sex Pistols felt an affiliation with the Kozaks, but then rockers have always found their influences in unusual places.
May 24 was a day to remember for Vira Balyk Vertepna and her mother, Lutsia Balyk Vertepna. Mrs. Vertepna's mother was honored as a "Righteous Gentile" by the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers at its annual dinner sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. Holocaust survivor Bronia Felberbaum-Kagan, one of those saved by Mrs. Vertepna's family, joined with Israeli diplomats, other survivors and all present to honor a woman who risked her own and her family's life to save those of others. On April 2, the Vertepnas were certified as "righteous" by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Central Authority in Jerusalem.
On June 6, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and former U.S. President George Bush were honored by the Institute for EastWest Studies at a gala at the New York Grand Hyatt Hotel. Mr. Kuchma was chosen for the award in recognition of his "artful role" in securing Ukraine's adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and for maintaining a difficult but successful Ukraine-Russia relationship. Mr. Kuchma, who at the time was in Sochi, negotiating with Russian President Boris Yeltsin over the division of the Black Sea Fleet, sent a delegation headed by his chief of staff, Dmytro Tabachnyk, to accept the first New Europe Award. In his remarks at the gathering, Mr. Bush insisted that "America must continue to lead," while praising President Kuchma's work as underscoring "...Ukraine's resolve to build a stable society."
A monument to commemorate those Ukrainians who died in the Nazi concentration camp at Ebenzee in northern Austria during World War II was unveiled on May 6 during ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary since the war's end. Among the participants in the commemorations were official Ukrainian and Austrian delegations. Ukraine's Ambassador to Austria Mykola Makarevych delivered the keynote address and also read a greeting from President Leonid Kuchma. The monument was built in the Zhytomyr Oblast through the efforts of the World League of Ukrainian Political Prisoners.
Long-time Ukrainian American radio show host and community activist Michael Komichak was honored in July by the Allegheny County Commissioners for his long years of service to residents of the Pittsburgh area. Dubbed the "Voice of Ukraine," Mr. Komichak has broadcast his weekly "Ukrainian Program" continuously without fail since 1950. The program has promoted the activities of Ukrainian fraternal, cultural and civic organizations and provided the 30,000-strong Ukrainian American community in the area with an opportunity to be heard. Mr. Komichak has also done substantial fund raising on behalf of the Ukrainian Nationality Room at the University of Pittsburgh.
A memorial plaque to Ukrainian Canadian soldiers who served their country with distinction overseas during World War II was unveiled in London on September 19. Over 35,000 Ukrainian Canadian men and women served with the Canadian Armed Forces during that war. The monument's location, at 218 Sussex Gardens in Paddington, served as the headquarters for the Ukrainian Canadian Servicemen's Association, formed in 1943 and later as the headquarters of the Central Ukrainian Relief Bureau, an organization created to provide information and humanitarian relief to displaced persons and refugees from the war.
On July 14, Canada Post Corp. released a remarkable 43 cent stamp commemorating the 125th birthday of the province of Manitoba. Remarkable because the stamp features a Ukrainian Kozak leaping into the air in the lower right corner of the stamp. The release was most appropriate as one in nine Manitobans claims Ukrainian heritage.
Judge Bohdan Futey became the first U.S. citizen to receive the "Honorary Citation of the President of Ukraine," for his "important contributions to the development of Ukrainian-American relations, and building the legal system in Ukraine." Judge Futey, who sits on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, has been actively involved in reforming Ukraine's legal system through his participation in the Democratization and Rule of Law program, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and other related programs. IFES works directly with the Committee on Legal Policy, Law and Judicial Reform of Ukraine's Parliament.
In late August, viewers of the popular weekly television program "Kontakt" learned that the only program of its kind might soon become homeless in the New York Metropolitan area. WNYC, Channel 31, the municipally owned channel, was being privatized and its buyers, ITT/Dow Jones, had refused to continue airing ethnic leased-time programs, of which there are 18 on WNYC. The loss of this outlet would be a major blow to Kontakt and to the 200,000 Ukrainian Americans, who are its target audience. The Federal Communications Commission, which must approve the transfer of broadcast license to ITT/Dow Jones, has received briefs from concerned parties. Kontakt is represented by Washington attorney Arthur Belendiuk. Over 1,000 letters have been sent to the FCC urging that ethnic programming be preserved in its present form.
Dronten, Holland, was the site for the 18th World Scout Jamboree, and a monumental first for Ukraine's scouting movement, which for the first time took part in such a worldwide conclave. On August 1-11, a delegation of 23 Plast, 12 Crimean, nine Skif and four other scouts represented Ukraine jointly before their counterparts from some 190 nations and territories. With the motto "Future is Now," over 36,000 scouts shared 10 days of traditional scouting activities, cross-cultural exchange and youthful camaraderie. Plast, Skif and other scout organizations are seeking entry into the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), however that organization requires a single, unified scout organization as a prerequisite for official inclusion.
At the 1995 Leadership Conference of The Washington Group, held during the weekend of October 6 in Arlington, Va., the Voice of America Ukrainian Service was honored for its long and accomplished record of providing persons living in the Soviet Union and now free Ukraine with an American angle on the news events of the Cold War and post-Cold War years. VOA's Ukrainian Service celebrated its 45th anniversary on December 12, 1994. For many years jammed by the Soviet authorities, VOA has sought to continue broadcasting in the face of moves by Congress to defund it. According to Ukrainian Service Chief Wolodymyr Bilajiw, VOA serves a unique role in providing Ukrainians in Ukraine with a review of international news and a link with Ukrainian diaspora communities.
The Park Avenue Synagogue's Women's Evening Group and Sisterhood, as participants of the "Honor a Rescuer" program sponsored by the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers/ADL, paid homage to Roman Biletskij with a reception at the Park Avenue Synagogue on October 23. Mr. Biletskij was cited for his heroic efforts in rescuing 24 Jews in Nazi-occupied Ukraine from certain death. Those gathered, including a number of those rescued by Mr. Biletskij, recalled the nearly two-year-long ordeal of hiding in camouflaged shelters near Mr. Biletskij's family's home and how the young boy had delivered supplies to them in a time when rations were short, without arousing anyone's suspicions. Mr. Biletskij has traveled to Jerusalem and spoken on behalf of the Ukrainian community, and his name is on the list of "Righteous Among the Nations" at Yad Vashem.

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