Ukrainian National Information Service celebrates its 20th anniversary in D.C. (11/09/97)

Ukrainian National Information Service celebrates its 20th anniversary in D.C.

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - The Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) marked its 20th anniversary with a gala banquet here on November 1.

Welcoming those who came to honor the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America's information office in Washington, UCCA President Askold Lozynskyj spoke about the effectiveness and importance of its work in the nation's capital.

As a result of its efforts with Congress and the various administrations over the past two decades, Mr. Lozynskyj said, "today, the Ukrainian community is not some amorphous mass; it established itself in Washington and government circles as a force to be reckoned with."

"There isn't a politician in the United States," Mr. Lozynskyj added, "who will ignore or would ignore the Ukrainian American community or the issues which the Ukrainian community holds dear."

Also addressing the 100 guests who came to honor UNIS at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel were the Ukrainian Embassy's chargé, Volodymyr Belashov; the principal deputy to the State Department's ambassador-at-large and special advisor to the secretary of state for the new independent states, Ross Wilson, who gave the keynote address; former UCCA president Lev Dobriansky; the first UNIS director, George Nesterczuk, and its current director, Michael Sawkiw, Jr.

UNIS also received written greetings from Vice-President Al Gore, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko, the four co-chairs of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus: Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Maurice Hinchy (D-N.Y.), Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.) and Jon Fox (R-Pa.), and the bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic diocese in Parma, Stamford and Chicago.

The Rev. Stephan Zencuch, who had just returned from South Bound Brook, N.J., and the pastoral visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, delivered a greeting on behalf of the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and Diaspora.

Vice-President Gore commended UNIS for its work "to facilitate good U.S.-Ukrainian relations" and applauded its efforts on behalf of the Ukrainian American community.

Foreign Affairs Minister Udovenko, in his greeting read by Mr. Belashov, congratulated all Ukrainian Americans, "who managed to carry through all those years the Ukrainian national idea, and whose genuine and generous support has always been felt in Ukraine."

Speaking for the Ukrainian Embassy, Mr. Belashov paid tribute to UNIS's work during the very difficult period prior to Ukraine's regaining its independence. "It would not be an exaggeration for me to say that UNIS did its large share in helping Ukraine regain its independence. In its own way it did the work that would normally be performed by Ukraine's information service, which did not exist under communism." He also expressed the Embassy's special gratitude for UNIS's efforts in the establishment of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.

Also present from the Ukrainian Embassy were Counselor Natalia Zarudna and Cultural Attaché Vasyl Zorya.

In addition to Mr. Wilson, among the U.S. government officials present were the State Department's Ukraine Desk Officer Bruce Connuck and Andre Lewis of the Office of the Ambassador-at-Large. Drew Setter of Rep. Levin's office was present as well.

In his keynote address, Mr. Wilson said that from his perspective, "I can tell you that UNIS does play an important role for Ukraine and for the goal of building better relations among our two countries."

Being the deputy to Ambassador-at-Large Steve Sestanovich, Mr. Wilson acknowledged that some Ukrainian Americans had reservations about Mr. Sestanovich's appointment. He added: "Let me say that he and I put Ukraine and Ukrainian-American relations at the top of our agenda."

"There is no Russia-first policy at the State Department or in the Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for the New Independent States," he stressed. "We're determined to work hard to ensure Ukraine's success and prosperity, and the fulfillment of the strategic partnership that characterizes our bilateral relations, and in seeking to advance the vital national interests of the United States, with which Ukraine is intimately bound."

While the U.S. has a "strategic partnership" with Ukraine and provides it with hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, Mr. Wilson said, "this doesn't mean that we uncritically back every move or policy of the Ukrainian government. ... We have to relate our aid and advice in ways that reinforce sound policy in Kyiv."

Ukraine is facing some hard times ahead, he said, "but there is a happy future ahead for it, and already the seeds are there."

Mr. Wilson noted that the Cold War and the existence of a totalitarian Communist regime in the Soviet Union helped organizations like UNIS and the UCCA find a receptive audience in the U.S. government.

"Well, now that the Communist bogeyman is gone," the challenge is "in sustaining public interest, both generally and within the Ukrainian American community, in sustaining U.S. involvement and engagement in support of an independent Ukraine - support that is absolutely essential for its success as a market democracy," he said.

The UCCA's president at the time when UNIS was created, Lev Dobriansky, while recalling its many accomplishments, also looked to the work that lies ahead - in preserving Ukraine's independence, the achievement of political, economic and political reforms in Ukraine, and its integration into Europe and the rest of the world as a member of the European Union and NATO.

UNIS Director Sawkiw pointed out that the one word that describes UNIS best was "dedication" - the dedication of those who worked for it and those who supported its work.

Among the most recent accomplishments of UNIS, Mr. Sawkiw included the "close cooperation with the newly formed Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, advocacy of increased foreign assistance to Ukraine, cooperation with the Ukrainian Embassy."

Mr. Sawkiw presented a special UNIS award to its founder and first director, Mr. Nesterczuk, now the staff director of the Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.

UNIS also honored its five major financial contributors, without which, Mr. Lozynskyj said, the operation of UNIS during the past 20 years would have been impossible: The First Security Federal Savings Bank of Chicago and its Heritage Foundation, Self Reliance New York Federal Credit Union, the SUMA (Yonkers) Federal Credit Union, the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union in Passaic, N.J., and the Selfreliance Ukrainian Federal Credit Union in Chicago.

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