LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (01/28/96)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

President Clinton: friend of Ukraine

Dear Editor:

Although it may not have been what he intended, Myron Kuropas makes an excellent case for the re-election of President Bill Clinton in his January 7 column, "Is the 'comeback kid' coming back?" He cites "the lowest unemployment rate in decades, low interest rates and low inflation rates" and calls Bill Clinton "an international peacemaker" and a contender for the Nobel Prize: very strong credentials.

Curiously, amidst these impressive accomplishments, Dr. Kuropas fails to mention President Clinton's record on Ukraine. This is a peculiar oversight since Mr. Clinton is by far the most pro Ukrainian president we have ever had.

Just consider: This year Ukraine will become the third largest recipient of direct U.S. aid - behind Israel and Egypt - replacing Russia, which will slip to fourth. This status, however, doesn't begin to tell the story. In the last two years, the United States has exerted its strategic and economic influence to defend Ukraine, including its right to the Crimean Peninsula.

The U.S. also helps to ensure that Russian gas and oil continue to flow into Ukraine until alternative supplies can be secured. Working with the G-7 countries, the U.S. is helping Ukraine reach the goal of energy independence. American clout at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) help Ukraine service its enormous debt, fund development projects and prepare for the introduction of a stable Ukrainian currency. Militarily, American troops participate in joint maneuvers with the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian soldiers routinely come to the U.S. for training, and a Ukrainian unit is in Bosnia serving as part of NATO's mission there.

America's close relationship with Ukraine was celebrated with a state visit for President Kuchma in November 1994, which many Ukrainian Americans witnessed. It was certainly one of the most moving moments of our lives to see the president of the United States standing alongside the president of Ukraine on the White House lawn, both of them with their hands on their hearts - a 21-gun salute, the Ukrainian national anthem and Ukrainian flags flapping next to the Stars and Stripes, all providing thrilling background music. President Kuchma got to return the courtesy when President Clinton visited Kyiv last year- his second trip to Ukraine.

Helping Ukraine has not been easy: the Ukrainian economy is in disarray, the old nomenklatura continues to frustrate reform efforts, and the old habits of the Soviet regime refuse to die. Unfortunately, in trying to help Ukraine, the Clinton administration has also had to fight the Republicans in Congress who want to severely restrict U.S. foreign aid programs (except for Israel and Egypt), eliminate Radio Liberty and cut the Voice of America and the U.S. Information Agency.

The Republican position is so bad that the highly regarded Central and East European Coalition in a letter to Speaker Newt Gingrich accused them of the 'betrayal of the very principles which the Republican Party has articulated since 1952." Thank God, at least, for Sen. Mitch McConnell.

What makes President Clinton's record on Ukraine especially impressive is the contrast with his predecessors. Ronald Reagan showed us that you can be anti-Communist without being pro Ukrainian. He said all the right things about "Captive Nations" but then failed the Ukrainian community in every other way.

Who can forget how hard his administration fought to block the establishment of the Congressional Commission on the Ukraine Famine? Even when the Ukrainian community offered to raise the money for it, Reagan officials still tried to kill the commission. We finally won on that issue, but we lost the struggle in 1986 to save the defecting sailor, Myroslav Medvid. A year later, in 1987, we were again forced to fight, this time to get a Ukrainian-language brochure and Ukrainian-speaking tour guide for a U.S.-sponsored exhibit in Kyiv. With the help of Congress, we won that one as well. President Reagan even snubbed our community when we invited him or his representative to attend our Millennium celebration in 1988.

Mr. Reagan's successor, George Bush, of course, will go down in Ukrainian history as the president who traveled to Kyiv in a last-ditch effort to block Ukrainian independence, lecturing the Parliament about "suicidal nationalism." Compare that to President Clinton's Kyiv speech at the Shevchenko Monument where he ended with, "God bless America, Slava Ukraini!" Suicidal nationalism, indeed.

The Ukrainian community has shown that we know how to vote against political leaders who ignore our issues. We did so in 1976 when President Gerald Ford kept insisting Eastern Europe was free of Soviet domination. We did it again in 1992 to punish President Bush for his "Chicken Kiev" speech and for waiting so long to recognize Ukrainian independence.

Now, we have a president who takes the time to listen to our concerns. In June 19g4, in fact, President Clinton spent 35 minutes with members of our community at the White House seeking our advice and insights. And then he acted on our recommendations. Now, with Mr. Clinton solidly in our comer, we need to show that we know how to recognize a friend and reward him with our support and our vote.

Let's see? Bill Clinton has the lowest unemployment rate in decades, low interest, low inflation, he's an international peacemaker, a candidate for the Nobel Prize and a friend of Ukraine besides? We say, "Four More Years!"

Andrew Fedynsky
Cleveland

Julian Kulas
Chicago

The writers are members of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee.

Re: Ukrainian version of Orwell's classic

Dear Editor:

Regarding Orwell's classic in Ukrainian (December 3, 1995) and Oksana Zakydalsky's letter: I happen to have a copy of the original Ukrainian translation "Kolhosp Tvaryn" and, to give credit where credit is due, the translation was by Ivan Cherniatynsky and not by Ihor Shevchenko as indicated by Ms. Zakydalsky.

This book was acquired by my family sometime during our DP camp existence in Augsburg, Germany, after World War II.

Victor Babanskyj
Watchung, N.J.

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