Former President Kravchuk addresses Twin Cities meetings (09/14/97)

Former President Kravchuk addresses Twin Cities meetings

by Ihor Lysyj

MINNEAPOLIS - Leonid M. Kravchuk, first president of Ukraine and current national deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine visited the Twin Cities of Minneapolis - St. Paul, as the guest of honor and the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent (ODUM) attended by delegates from the U.S. and Canada. This will be Mr. Kravchuk's last major trip abroad before the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 1998.

The whirlwind visit began on Wednesday, August 27, with a dinner meeting with the leadership of ODUM and ended on Sunday, August 31, with church services at St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which Mr. Kravchuk attended accompanied by the rank and file of the ODUM Youth Organization.

Accompanied by his grandson Andrii and assisted by Walter Anastas, who acted as his translator, Mr. Kravchuk met with the Minnesota business community at the World Trade Center, and visited the Grain Exchange and the Mall of America. He was warmly received and toasted as "the George Washington of Ukraine" at the Ukrainian American Center gala ball organized in his honor by ODUM, where he was keynote speaker.

One of the high points of this occasion was the presentation of military standards by veterans who shed their blood for Ukrainian independence during the first and second world wars. The standards of the Union of Ukrainian Veterans of the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR) and the Ukrainian resistance movement were transferred to Mr. Kravchuk; they are destined for his archives.

Mr. Kravchuk also held meetings and discussions with members of the Ukrainian diaspora on two other occasions, one at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Anatol Lysyj, and the other at a forum organized by ODUM in the church hall of St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In the informal setting of the Lysyj residence's garden, Mr. Kravchuk discussed the economic and political challenges facing Ukraine, the role of the diaspora in assisting Ukraine's entry into the world community, and the fateful events of August 24, 1991, which led to Ukrainian independence.

In respect to the economy, Mr. Kravchuk said he believes that Ukraine can achieve its full potential only through full integration into the Western economic system. To achieve such an integration, foreign investments into Ukrainian markets must be made profitable, he continued. There are many impediments to achieving this goal; unpredictable and continuously changing laws and regulations regarding foreign trade and investment in Ukraine, as well as uneven and capricious enforcement are the main reasons for this unsatisfactory situation. A major shift in the attitudes of Ukrainian legislature and bureaucracy will be required to remedy this situation, said Mr. Kravchuk.

In the political sphere, he noted that the Ukrainian electorate is composed of a wide spectrum of political ideologies, from the extreme right to the extreme left. As long as such parties are dedicated to the idea of Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, he noted, they must be accommodated by the country's political system. The former president said he sees a constructive role for the Ukrainian diaspora in promoting the intellectual and economic integration of Ukraine into the Western world. The unceasing bickering and confrontations between various civic organizations and political parties in the diaspora, unfortunately, do not contribute constructively to that goal, he added.

In a more reflective mood, Mr. Kravchuk commented on the fateful days of August 1991, when he put the law on sovereignty on the agenda of the Communist-dominated Parliament of Ukraine. By doing so at a time that Ukraine was a police state controlled by security organs, most notably the KGB, he put his own life and that of his family on the line. The rest is history.

On Saturday, August 30, Mr. Kravchuk met with a broad cross-section of the Ukrainian diaspora at a forum organized by ODUM and moderated by Dr. Lysyj. In these proceedings Mr. Kravchuk fielded answers to a broad range of questions ranging from NATO's role in Ukraine and the preparedness of the Ukrainian Army to fend off external aggression, to his new role as the chairman of the Committee on Administrative Reform.

A brief summary of the key issues raised at the forum and Mr. Kravchuk's comments follows.

On elections:

The Ukrainian electorate faces a political Rubicon in March 1998. Competing for representation in the Ukrainian Parliament will be democratic forces, the centrist bloc of the establishment, and the leftist forces of the socialist-communist-agrarian bloc. The outcome will determine the future of Ukraine.

The leftist bloc is represented in the present Parliament by approximately 165 to 170 deputies. If this block wins 230 parliamentary seats in the next election, both the character of Ukrainian state and the geopolitical balance in Europe will change. The power of the office of the president will be diminished or completely eliminated. The country will move politically towards the Belarus model in its relations with Russia. This will lead to the country's international isolation and final economical collapse.

The political dynamics of Ukraine are dominated by the 9 / 36 formula. The western regions of Ukraine, with approximately 9 million voters out of the total voting population of 36 million, is assured to deliver a solid democratic bloc representation in the Parliament, while the balance of the voting population in the central and eastern regions of the country will be split among democratic, centrist, and leftist parties.

With 27 million voters, the central and eastern regions of Ukraine have the power to decide the outcome of the election and the fate of Ukraine. Consequently, all the available resources and efforts of the democratic bloc, as well as the assistance of the diaspora, should be concentrated in these regions, rather than in western Ukraine.

Mr. Kravchuk indicated that he will most likely run for the Parliament in his home district of Rivne, Volynia, rather than in his present district in Halychyna.

On NATO and military preparedness:

There are no realistic expectations of Ukraine joining the NATO alliance. The cost of such a move is estimated at over 40 billion - funds that Ukraine does not have. Furthermore, while Russia actively courts Ukraine to join a military alliance within the framework of the CIS, there is no corresponding action on the part of NATO. In any case, if Ukraine were to join one bloc or the other, the military balance of power in Europe would shift dramatically; for various political reasons this probably will not happen.

The preparedness of the 400,000-strong Ukrainian military is at approximately 60 percent effectiveness, and is continuously diminishing due to budgetary constraints and obsolescence of military equipment. Any potential aggressor against Ukraine, however, must reckon not only with Ukraine's regular military forces, but also with popular resistance movements. Popular resistance movements were traditionally the hallmark of the defense of Ukrainian independence and would no doubt play a critical role in a fight against any aggressor.

On the economy and the IMF role:

The policies of International Monetary Fund (IMF) as applied to Ukraine and the other independent countries of the former Soviet Union are unsuitable under existing conditions. Developed on the models of free-market economies of Western countries, which have a well- established supporting infrastructure of financial services, these models are poorly suited for new countries that have no traditions of free markets, or the necessary infrastructure.

The low inflation rate of the hryvnia is maintained not by the prospering Ukrainian economy but artificially by not paying workers' salaries. Consequently, a broad range of popular resentment against the IMF is on the rise in Ukraine, and might prove to be a significant element in the election.

Neither the IMF nor any other international lending or charitable institution is the answer to Ukraine's economic problems; the answer lies within the domain of Ukraine. The country has an enormous unrealized economic potential; this potential, however, can be realized only through a full integration of the Ukrainian economy into the world economy. This can be achieved by Ukrainian government moves to create a favorable investment climate for Western interests. To that end, the passage of consistent laws regulating foreign trade and investment in Ukraine, and their enforcement should be a first priority of the Ukrainian government. A prosperous economic future for Ukraine is based on trade not aid.

On bureaucracy and political leadership:

Ukraine is a big country with a complex industrial-agricultural structure. At present there are 600,000 bureaucrats (chynovnyky) running it. The bulk of this bureaucratic machinery, from the lowest "lanovyi" (a functionary in a collective farm) to the highest ministry official includes former functionaries of the Communist state, a legacy left by the Soviet Union. Patriotic and nationally conscious leaders are mostly poets and literary intellectuals poorly suited to run the affairs of state.

To overcome this legacy of the Soviet Union, the government is training a new generation of civil servants in various schools of management and institutions of higher learning. Unfortunately, it will take some time to replace 600,000 bureaucrats.

On the Ukrainian language:

There has been visible backsliding in the use of the Ukrainian language by government officials and the military. The Constitution clearly states that Ukrainian is the state language. There are, however, no means to enforce this Constitutional mandate. To remedy this situation, the Parliament must pass appropriate additional laws and regulations that will make government officials accountable for use of the Ukrainian language within their jurisdictions.

On religious institutions:

The Ukrainian populace has always been and is deeply religious. However, there has been splintering and squabbling within various religious denominations. The responsibility for this unfortunate situation clearly rests with the clergy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union a number of opportunists entered the ranks of the clergy. Such individuals, without proper cultural attributes and also lacking in theological training, are working primarily for their own interests, rather than for the interest of the Church. The Constitution clearly mandates a separation between the state and Church, and the government is not in a position to intervene in this discord.

On reform of the administration:

Mr. Kravchuk's goal as chairman of the Committee on Administrative Reform is to reverse the mental outlook of the current government bureaucracy. He explained that bureaucrats currently in power consider the people as their servants. The challenge inherent in his new post is to reverse this, so that the bureaucrats will become servants of the people.

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