Embassy urges Ukrainian Americans to unite in marking independence anniversary

by Yaro Bihun

WASHINGTON - Ukrainian Ambassador Yuri Shcherbak called on the Ukrainian American community to unite in the commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's independence and in strengthening its representational presence in the U.S. capital.

Dr. Shcherbak's call came during a meeting with representatives of major Ukrainian American organizations at the ambassador's residence on June 12.

As in similar meetings in the past, Dr. Shcherbak also presented a detailed report on the latest developments in Ukraine, which included bad news about the Ukrainian economy and good news in its foreign relations.

Ambassador Shcherbak said Ukraine needs to take advantage of the fifth anniversary commemoration to obtain renewed statements of political support from the United States and the international organizations in Washington. "We would like to have this support of Ukraine in its efforts to further secure its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and the inviolability of its boundaries," he said.

The Embassy plans to commemorate the anniversary with a gala reception, he said, and he called on the leaders of the Ukrainian American community to also mark the occasion at the highest possible level.

Ambassador Shcherbak recommended the creation of a national committee of all Ukrainian American organizations to plan and carry out anniversary celebrations, which would include a gala event and a high-level conference in Washington, as well as obtaining appropriate statements and resolutions from the White House and Congress.

While not trying to interject himself into internal Ukrainian American affairs, Dr. Shcherbak said the Washington celebration should be at the highest possible level, with the participation of the largest possible number of senators and representatives.

In a related matter, he also called on Ukrainian organizations - without changing their internal structures or relationships - to unite the community's representational efforts in Washington into an "umbrella" entity that would have as its single goal helping Ukraine, and to shift the center of activities of the Ukrainian American community to Washington.

During the discussion that followed, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America President Askold Lozynskyj disagreed with some of Ambassador Shcherbak's recommendations and, as he termed it, "misunderstandings" about the diaspora.

"We - the Ukrainian diaspora - are first of all Americans, who have influence in the United States because we work from the perspective that we are Americans," Mr. Lozynskyj said. "We have our organizations and structures, and our influence on our congressmen or the administration is based not on our love for Ukraine or their love for Ukraine but on the fact that we elect them or choose not to elect them."

"I am for the best of cooperation with Ukraine, its embassy, mission and consulates in New York and Chicago, but at the same time we must understand that there is a line that cannot be crossed," he said, noting that as the president of the UCCA, he is not a registered agent of Ukraine.

Mr. Lozynskyj recommended celebrating the fifth anniversary of Ukraine's independence as in the past - at a somewhat higher level, of course, but without creating a national coalition or committee.

Representatives of other organizations, for the most part, saw the need for coordination of celebration plans, but felt - as did Ukrainian American Coordinating Council President Ulana Diachuk - that it was too late to organize and work through a national committee. Most also expressed a need for a stronger lobbying presence in Washington, although recognizing that the Ukrainian American community could never equal the influence and success of Jewish or Armenian Americans in Washington.

Reporting on developments in Ukraine, Dr. Shcherbak characterized the over-all situation as very difficult - with problems in getting Ukraine's new constitution passed in Parliament, a Cabinet reshuffle as well as a dramatic downturn in the economy.

The draft constitution, even though it passed the first reading, is having a rough time in the Supreme Council and ultimately, he said, it will not be passed in Parliament but by way of a national referendum in September.

Recent changes in President Kuchma's government, starting with the removal of Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk by a unanimous vote of the Cabinet, were brought on by the accumulation of unresolved problems - primarily economic - that could no longer be ignored.

The first five months of 1995 saw a 9.6 percent drop in the GNP and a 16 percent drop in industrial production, and the military industrial complex has practically stopped working. "Some of the directors, frankly speaking, are sabotaging, standing by passively and waiting for the return of the good old times, as they recall them," Dr. Shcherbak said. "And all of this has resulted in unemployment and social dissatisfaction among the people."

"The major problem today is the dreadful crisis of non-payment," Ambassador Shcherbak said. All Eastern European countries endured this phase of economic transition. "But it has dragged out in Ukraine to its critical limits," he added, "and one could say that this was the primary reason for Prime Minister Marchuk's demise."

He pointed out that in the first five months of 1996, the government failed to receive 155 trillion karbovantsi for its budget. Enterprises are not paying for gas and oil, and the people are not paying for the electricity they use. "No one is paying anything. All are in debt. Enterprises have no cash flow, and they cannot produce because they have no money with which to pay its workers," he said.

As an example, he pointed out that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety, headed by Yuri Kostenko, who later joined the meeting, has not paid its workers since March.

The army, which has been drawn down from 600,000 at the time Ukraine declared its independence to 300,000 today, has received only 16 percent of its budget, and its personnel have not been paid for three to four months. And the government has prohibited the buying of imported office furniture and foreign travel. Even travel on the ministerial level has been curtailed, requiring personal authorization by the prime minister, Dr. Shcherbak said.

As are all government departments, the Embassy in Washington, too, is feeling the budgetary squeeze. "We find ourselves in a very critical financial situation," the ambassador said.

The government tax system is not working, and profitable enterprises are hiding their profits and not paying their share, Dr. Shcherbak continued. This has forced the Cabinet to take "extreme measures," including the formation of special "brigades" headed by deputy prime ministers, which have gone out to the various regions to get a hold of the situation. "It's reminiscent of the old Soviet methods, when things like this were done, but there seems to be no alternative," he said.

While, on a positive note, Ukraine did not accrue any new external debts in 1995, still, its foreign debt for the previous three years amounts to $8 billion - more than half of which is owed to Russia and Turkmenistan for all oil and gas. This debt level, however, he explained, is not too high for a country the size of Ukraine.

Dr. Shcherbak reported that most of the good news was in Ukraine's foreign relations: Ukraine became a member of the Council of Europe, and President Kuchma has reaffirmed Ukraine's intention to integrate with Europe by becoming a full member of the European community and not some "Euro-Asian" grouping.

"Today we have completely reoriented our foreign policy on European priorities," the ambassador said.

Regardless of who wins the presidential elections in Russia, Dr. Shcherbak said, "the pressure on Ukraine will be increased...We know this and we should be prepared." Russia has stated that it wants to re-institute its old boundaries, and it is part of Russia's official foreign policy doctrine, he underlined.

Ukraine's attitude toward NATO has changed in recent times to the extent that Kyiv now is not against its expansion. "We understand that this will happen, and we must be ready to share a 1,000-kilometer common border with NATO," he said. Ukraine, however, remains against the introduction of NATO nuclear weapons into these expanded territories, and to this end President Kuchma has called for the creation of a nuclear-free zone in Central Europe.

"So long as NATO unites democratic countries, we are for maintaining close ties and expanding our cooperation with it," Dr. Shcherbak said. "Our goal is to create a special partnership with NATO, so that NATO would be a guarantor of Ukraine's independence."

The ambassador said that in the near future NATO will open an information center in Kyiv, and in a related matter, noted Poland's positive position on Ukraine's role in Europe and plans for the information of a joint Polish-Ukrainian army battalion, which will be stationed in Peremyshl.

Dr. Shcherbak also took the opportunity to introduce the Embassy's new press counselor, Natalia Zaroudna, who, he said, is also working in expanding the Embassy's relations with the Organization of American States, which is headquartered in Washington.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 23, 1996, No. 25, Vol. LXIV

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