Fault line appears as World Congress of Ukrainians approaches seventh conclave (08/09/98)

Fault line appears as World Congress of Ukrainians approaches seventh conclave

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - As the Ukrainian World Congress prepares for its seventh congress in November, a major fault line appears to have emerged in the world body that unites diaspora organizations.

Reached at his home on July 21, UWC President Dr. Dmytro Cipywnyk told The Weekly in a telephone interview that he would not seek another term as the world umbrella body's president in part because he is "tired of the games being played."

In an apparent direct contradiction to a resolution adopted by the UWC Presidium in February, UWC General Secretary Yaroslav Sokolyk traveled to Ukraine to attend a meeting of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian World Coordinating Council on May 22-23.

The resolution, passed unanimously with Mr. Sokolyk and World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations President Oksana Sokolyk (his wife) abstaining, mandated that UWC officials would not participate in any further meetings called by the UWCC until several conditions were met.

Mr. Sokolyk also failed to act in accordance with his duties as general secretary by not clearly informing UWC member-organizations of the anti-UWCC resolution, Dr. Cipywnyk said.

In fact, the UWC President said Mr. Sokolyk had conducted a campaign to encourage members of Western diasporan Ukrainian organizations to attend the May UWCC conclave in Kyiv despite this resolution.

On April 6, Dr. Cipywnyk attended to a special meeting here of the UWC executive called by Mr. Sokolyk, and attended by Chief Financial Officer William Sametz, Vice-President Dr. Oleh Romanyshyn, Vice-President and Treasurer Vasyl Veryha, Mrs. Sokolyk, World Coordinating Council on Education (WCCE) Chair Iroida Wynnyckyj and World Council of Ukrainian Social Services (WCUSS) Chair Olia Danylak.

Mr. Sokolyk, who was making a last-ditch effort to get official approval to attend the UWCC meeting, was instructed that he, Mrs. Sokolyk and Mr. Veryha were free to travel to Kyiv, with a stipulation that "in participating in discussions they will not make any decisions or issue any statements on behalf of the UWC." A motion to this effect was drafted by Dr. Romanyshyn and passed.

Dr. Cipywnyk said that in early May he sent out a letter notifying the UWC's constituent central organizations of the February resolution and of the April motion stipulating that Mr. Sokolyk was attending the UWCC meeting as an individual, not as a UWC representative.

The conflict over UWC participation in the UWCC came to light at a plenary meeting of the UWC Secretariat held in Toronto on June 5-6, as Mr. Sokolyk read his report as UWC general secretary. He detailed proceedings of the UWCC conclave as if he had participated in the adoption of UWCC resolutions.

Mr. Sokolyk's report reads: "We also changed the name of the newspaper News from Ukraine to Ukrainian Forum," and "It was important for us at that meeting that the activities of the Ukraina Society in the Soviet period be condemned."

Also, in the general secretary's report it is noted that "Ukrainian and Eastern diaspora representatives [to the UWCC] told us privately that [the UWC] has neither the legal nor the moral right to demand that a separate organization [the Ukraina Society], to which [the UWC] does not belong, change its name."

Other conditions for renewed official representation at UWCC meetings, such as the submission of a comprehensive budget, a clear statement on UWCC by-laws, resolution of the conflict of interest created by government officials holding top posts in a non-governmental organization [such as current UWCC President Ivan Drach], were apparently not addressed at the UWCC meeting and were not mentioned in Mr. Sokolyk's report.

Several members of the diaspora umbrella body's executive expressed outrage, including Ukrainian Congress Committee of America President Askold Lozynskyj and Conference of Ukrainian Youth Organizations Chair Evhen Czolij.

Ukraina Society statement

Mr. Sokolyk quoted from a statement dated May 22-23, signed by UWCC President Drach. Two paragraphs dealing with the Ukraina Society's past record read as follows:

"The members and representatives of the UWCC condemn the activities of the Ukraina Society during the period of the totalitarian Communist regime, when some leaders of the society and its workers acted, essentially, on the orders and under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, the KGB of Ukraine and the USSR, and channeled efforts to discredit Ukrainians around the world, their principal organizations and communities, as well as their leading activists in the field of culture, science, education, art and the Church. Similar activities distorted the perception, held by Ukrainians living in the Ukrainian SSR and the USSR, of the Ukrainian diaspora; deepened divisions between Ukrainians in the world; and sowed the seeds of distrust, misunderstanding and discord.

"At the same time, it is important to remember that, essentially, it was only through the Ukraina Society that a portion of the truth about Ukraine reached the diaspora during totalitarian times; that [through the Ukraina Society] contacts and individual friendships between honest artists of Ukraine and the Ukrainians of the world were established; that Ukrainian songs, Ukrainian literature, Ukrainian films, theater and paintings found their way abroad."

Mr. Lozynskyj decried the actions of what he called "a Toronto-based higher presidium," which he accused of governing the UWC like the Politburo had ruled the former USSR and ignoring presidium resolutions at will. He also rejected the Ukraina Society critique as insufficient. "It amounts to praise for the Ukraina Society," Mr. Lozynskyj said.

Mr. Sokolyk defended his decision to go to Kyiv for the UWCC meeting, saying that "it is better to be present when decisions are being taken, because they'll make decisions without us."

Mr. Sokolyk added, "We need to remember that there are over 20 million Ukrainians living outside Ukraine who really want [the UWCC]. We should think about them, too."

The Toronto-based activist also denied that any motion restricting the UWC delegation had been made, and claimed that the April 6 meeting's minutes had been altered.

President visits South America

The UWC president reported on his long-awaited trip to the Ukrainian communities in Brazil and Argentina, taken from April 16 to May 5.

Dr. Cipywnyk spoke of meetings with officials of the Ukrainian Central Representation in Brazil, such as Yosyf Velgach, Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Efraim Kryvy, and a representative of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishop Yeremiy in Curitiba, the provincial capital of Parana, as well as visits to "the interior," including the town of Prudentopolis and surrounding villages.

Dr. Cipywnyk also met with the Ukrainian consul general in Curitiba, Dr. Vasyl Kyrychenko, and Vice-Consul Yurii Tatarchenko, who said cooperation with the local community is very strong. The Ukrainian diplomats said that a fund-raising effort had helped pay for a lease on the Consulate's premises and for its furnishings.

President Cipywnyk said he conveyed his surprise to the Brazilian community that Ukrainian community organizations in the country are capable of raising serious funds to support a diplomatic mission, and yet the umbrella organization pleads poverty when asked to pay $500 in UWC dues.

Dr. Cipywnyk told The Weekly that many community members were equally surprised that their leadership was not fulfilling its financial commitments.

The UWC president called such dues "a good investment," given that it availed organizations of the expertise of such institutions as the WCCE and WCUSS, which could address many of the educational and social issues faced by Ukrainians in South America.

This issue was a topic of concern at the Presidium meeting of June 5-6, as Auditing Committee members Tetiana Diachynska, Alex Neprel and Ostap Wynnycky reported that 82 member-organizations had not paid their dues, and about 30 to 40 would likely be barred from participating and/or voting during the seventh congress.

Continuing his report, Dr. Cipywnyk said that in Argentina he traveled to Buenos Aires, the capital, as well as Missiones and Apostoles, principal areas of Ukrainian settlement, and Posadas, a tea-growing and processing center that has served as a source of wealth for Ukrainian Argentinians.

In the capital, meetings with officials of the Argentinian-Ukrainian Central Representation and the Vidrodzhennia (Rebirth) Society revealed that thousands of immigrants from Ukraine have arrived in the country seeking employment, but that recent downturns in the Argentinian economy have plunged them into hardship.

The question of how to assist these people is proving a thorny one, Dr. Cipywnyk reported, as many of the recent arrivals shun the local community unless they are stricken with financial need. This has led to divisions among Ukrainian Argentinians, some of whom consider it a local problem and others who believe that bodies such as the UWC should intercede.

Report compiled with the assistance of Dr. Marta Dyczok.