LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (03/03/96)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Ukraine's Embassy seeks information

Dear Editor:

The Embassy of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Agricultural Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plans to organize an exhibition "Contribution of Ukrainians to U.S. Agriculture."

We know this contribution is very significant. The grain-growers who came from Ukraine added to the riches of the U.S. by their hard work - suffice it to note that the base of American wheat production was the wheat brought to the U.S. by Ukrainian emigrants. Professor V. Savitsky, who worked at the Sugar Beet Institute in Kyiv before World War II, later created the moon-spire sugar-beet in California. This fundamentally changed the technology of sugar beet growing and increased crop yields.

We ask readers for assistance in organizing this exhibition by providing to us the following information: documents, pictures, books, articles, other exhibits and information about activities of Ukrainians who contributed to forming this important sector of the U.S. economy by creating new technologies, highly efficient kinds of plants and animals, or equipment and machinery; conducting economic research; influencing agricultural legislation; training specialists, etc.

Yuri Shcherbak
Ambassador of Ukraine
Washington

Clinton-Gore team deserves our vote

Dear Editor:

I, along with many others, subscribe to The Weekly because we want to be informed about what is happening in our Ukrainian community and in our mother country, Ukraine. Most of the time The Weekly does an excellent job of doing that. However, I do not expect to read what I did in Myron Kuropas' column of January 7. If I want to read Bill and Hillary Clinton-bashing, there are experts on the subject, such as Rush Limbaugh, William Safire, etc., to whom I could refer.

The last paragraph of Dr. Kuropas' column was the only one that belongs in The Weekly. He challenged the Ukrainian community to begin thinking about how to become part of this year's political agenda. Well, to start such a debate, may I point to the facts as they affect Ukraine and Ukrainians.

1. When President George Bush went to Kyiv and urged Ukrainians there not to push for independence, our Ukrainian community was outraged. Ukrainian Americans let Mr. Bush know at the polls how they felt about his stance.

2. Now the question is posed as to how this same community should react to President Clinton, who invited the president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, for a formal state visit, one of less than half a dozen such visits during his administration. President Clinton has been urging the West's industrial countries to support Ukraine, morally and financially. His administration has signed hundreds of agreements, despite a Russophile bureaucracy in the State Department.

President Clinton's and Vice-President Al Gore's visits to Ukraine were never made with empty hands. With America's help, Ukraine has a chance to become a country that we can be proud of. Our grandchildren will be proud to tell their friends of their Ukrainian heritage.

For Messrs. Clinton's and Gore's very strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty and independence, for all of the financial aid to Ukraine when it needed it most - how should our Ukrainian community reciprocate? May I suggest a full partisan vote of confidence and thank you by going to the polls and re-electing the Clinton-Gore team so they can finish the job of helping President Kuchma and the Ukrainian people to develop a truly democratic, independent country.

Dr. Kuropas, I invite you to join the grateful Ukrainian community and support the "Comeback Kid." (Incidentally, Dr. Kuropas, I enjoy your column at least 80 percent of the time.)

Joseph Charyna
Boston

Let's continue pre-election debate

Dear Editor:

I found the letter to the editor by Andrew Fedynsky and Julian Kulas (January 28) to be a great start for the Ukrainian American community to debate the issue. I hope this dialogue continues on the pages of The Weekly with Dr. Myron Kuropas adding his wonderful perspective. Choosing a president for our country is very serious and I hope that we consider what is in the national interest of the United States rather than voting on what a president does or does not do for Ukraine.

I found it intriguing that Messrs. Fedynsky and Kulas consider Bill Clinton by far the most pro-Ukrainian president we have ever had." One can also consider President Ronald Reagan as one who by deeds proved to be a friend of Ukraine by destroying the "Evil Empire." This was done by investing in the military to the point that the Soviets could not keep up.

It's much easier, of course, to financially support an independent Ukraine. No matter who is president, we would have joint military training with Ukrainian forces. Why the aid and military exchanges? It's in our national interest.

What about Mr. Clinton's insistence that Ukraine give up its nuclear arsenal? Isn't it interesting that the Clinton administration did not insist that Russia give up its nuclear weaponry? In fact wasn't Ukraine sending its nuclear missiles to Russia for dismantling? Didn't the administration refuse to sign a defense pact with Ukraine? Also, isn't Mr. Clinton banking on Boris Yeltsin as the "savior" of Russia? Yet, Mr. Yeltsin yearns to have Ukraine back in the Russian fold.

The Fedynsky and Kulas letter takes us back in time to blast the Republicans. The case of Myroslav Medvid was a disappointment, but the final decision was made by the State Department, not by President Reagan. Wasn't the State Department known as an apologist for the Soviets? How about Franklin D. Roosevelt, a democrat? Remember Yalta and giving away Western Europe to "Uncle Joe" Stalin.

Let us not become a one-issue community. As Americans, we should be less concerned with party politics, and more concerned with character and values. We should ask ourselves whether our political leaders stand for ideals. Do our leaders debate the issues, or do they simply bend the truth? Do they cloud the judgments of Americans by changing the meaning of the message every other day? Thank God, at least, for President Reagan.

Roman G. Golash
Schaumburg, Ill.

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