EDITORIAL: He is irreplaceable (04/04/99)

EDITORIAL

He is irreplaceable

He was a powerful figure who engendered fierce loyalty and affection, as well as angry rejection - at the very least respect and admiration, often grudging. He was a natural leader who spent most of his life in a system that preferred to appoint them.

The unexpected and violent death of Vyacheslav Maksymovych Chornovil, political leader and long-time human rights activist, stunned Kyiv and gave pause throughout Ukraine. With his quick mind, quick walk and rapid-fire speech, Vyacheslav Maksymovych, as he preferred to be called by all other than strangers, was a vibrant and integral part of the political spectrum in Ukraine, even as he faced a profound political crisis in his own party, Rukh.

His personal and political philosophy were embedded in his often-cited vision: "Ukraina, democracy, the individual." The three elements were inter-connected - one could not be without the others. The vision did not depend on any one tactic, or specific strategy, and was not an ideology, but a consciousness of what a nation, a people, an individual should be, and what they should have: dignity and respect. Independence was only the first step.

Unlike many political leaders in Ukraine, who, while giving lip service to democracy, actively shun direct contact with the people or simply use "the people" as a rhetorical tool, Vyacheslav Chornovil loved and believed in the people of Ukraine, believed in their inherent dignity and common sense, and was always entreating them to move forward, to demand more.

The newspaper Chas-Time, of which he was editor-in-chief, included the following quote from Mr. Chornovil in a special edition dedicated to his memory: "There are two fundamental venues for spiritual creativity and the development of common good: a people and the individual. They - while alive - strive to move forward, evolve, grow. And only death, destruction or an extreme threat can halt the common effort of the people and the unique endeavors of individuals."

Vyacheslav Chornovil's unwavering dedication to Ukraine and its people was returned in kind. Tens of thousands came to Kyiv to mourn his death. The grief and sorrow among the crowd was deep. Sobbing women gently lay flowers on the road along which his casket was to be carried. Distraught men recalled his visits to their small village Rukh organizations - where sometimes only a few dozen people would gather - and his expressions of gratitude to those who came. Among the mourners, throughout the day, one phrase echoed again and again: "He is irreplaceable."

A political leader, a human rights activist, Vyacheslav Maksymovych Chornovil was also an editor, journalist and writer. [For a biography see page 3.] His untimely death is deeply felt at The Ukrainian Weekly. The lives of many of our current and former staffers, and the history of the newspaper, have been closely intertwined with Mr. Chornovil.

For 22 years, Roma Hadzewycz has been covering Mr. Chornovil, both his activities in Ukraine and his sojourns abroad, on the pages of this paper. Staff Editor Irene Jarosewich, while press secretary for foreign journalists at Rukh's press center, for several years was Mr. Chornovil's translator and liaison with foreign media, and Kyiv Press Bureau chief Roman Woronowycz, who has been covering Rukh in recent years, had just completed an in-depth interview with Mr. Chornovil. Andrij Wynnyckyj of our Toronto Bureau covered Mr. Chornovil during his visits to Canada.

Former Associate Editor Chrystyna Lapychak wrote extensively about Ukraine's dissident movement and Associate Editor Marta Kolomayets, in between stints with The Weekly, conducted the first videotaped interview with Mr. Chornovil and his colleague Mykhailo Horyn in 1987. Both covered Rukh and its leaders while serving as this paper's Kyiv correspondents. Former Assistant Editor Khristina Lew was active in a Washington group that supported the fledgling Rukh and later covered its activity first-hand from Kyiv. Former Associate Editor George Zarycky penned editorials and "dissident profiles" during the not-too-distant years of Soviet repression. Editors Zenon Snylyk and Ihor Dlaboha wrote extensively about this Ukrainian patriot's "anti-Soviet" activitity.

And there were many, many other connections that this newspaper and its staffers (not all of them named here) had and felt deeply ... In a sense, we at The Weekly grew up with Vyacheslav Chornovil. We knew he was an individual, a leader, that comes along so rarely. It pleased us that Mr. Chornovil treated The Weekly with respect and even affection as a kindred spirit in the struggle against the wasteland of Soviet and Russo-centric information about Ukraine. We mourn the passing of not only a great man, but a colleague whom we considered a dear friend.

A powerful figure, a natural leader, Vyacheslav Chornovil was also a fighter - in the most positive sense - by instinct. His was a commanding, insistent presence. During his days in the Soviet gulag, his fellow dissidents referred to him as "the general." He was given this moniker in part for his drive to be up front and in charge. Fundamentally, however, as one human rights activist stated at a press conference during Mr. Chornovil's 1991 presidential campaign, this characterization was an acknowledgment of his determination to fight for the principles in which he believed, for confronting and defeating opposition, for his ability to encourage and rally others to do likewise and for his unyielding dedication to make real his vision.

The voice of one of Ukraine's most remarkable and beloved sons has been stilled.

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