Toronto gathering celebrates anniversary of Carpatho-Ukraine (05/09/99)

Toronto gathering celebrates anniversary of Carpatho-Ukraine

by Yuriy Diakunchak

TORONTO - Approximately 250 people gathered at the Ukrainian National Federation's building in downtown Toronto on March 27 at a banquet to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Carpatho-Ukraine's declaration of independence and the 125th anniversary of the birth of the republic's president, the Rev. Avhustyn Voloshyn and to commemorate the people who fought and died to make their dream come true.

The ephemeral pronouncement of independence by Carpatho-Ukraine on March 15, 1939, is a little-known event within the Ukrainian community, let alone the rest of the world. The attempt to create a Ukrainian piedmont on the eve of the second world war by the Carpatho-Ukrainian Sejm, headed by its president, the Rev. Voloshyn, served as an omen of what would befall the rest of Ukraine in subsequent years.

At the outset of the evening's official program, Yuri Shanta, a Toronto-based member of the organizing committee, provided a rousing retelling of historical events that followed the 1939 proclamation. Mr. Shanta explained that the crushing of Carpatho-Ukraine by Hungarian forces, with the political backing of Nazi Germany, had ramifications for all of Europe.

The activist recounted that immense odds were stacked against Carpatho-Ukraine's armed forces, the Zakarpatska Sich. "When the Carpathian Sich was defending itself from Hungarian troops they had only 41 rifles and 90 revolvers," he said.

Mr. Shanta related how the Czecho-Slovak authorities who oversaw Carpatho-Ukraine were bullied by the Germans into disarming the Ukrainian forces in the face of an Hungarian advance. Mr. Shanta's voice conveyed the sense of betrayal he still feels after all these years.

"In the end, the Czecho-Slovak army withdrew, leaving a virtually unarmed Sich to defend Khust, the [Carpatho-Ukrainian] capital," Mr. Shanta said.

The evening's keynote speaker was Michael Pap, a historian and professsor of international law at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Prof. Pap said Carpatho-Ukraine's proclamation of independence has particular historical significance because it was issued in defiance of Nazi Germany's wishes.

"When on March 15, 1939, Hitler was entering Czecho-Slovakia with little opposition, Carpatho-Ukraine was battling the advancing Hungarians. The Sich managed to maintain a regular front for almost two weeks," the historian said.

According to Prof. Pap, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was very concerned about the prospect of an independent Carpatho-Ukraine and saw it as a great threat to the USSR. The scholar maintained that Stalin saw Adolf Hitler's gift of Carpatho-Ukraine to the Hungarians as the green light for the establishment of a Nazi-Soviet pact.

In a comment on present-day Ukraine, Prof. Pap called upon its citizens to rid the country of "janissaries."

Petro Bajer, Brotherhood of Veterans of the Carpathian Sich (BVCS) president, delivered an address intended for the ears of Ukraine's president, Leonid Kuchma. Mr. Bajer asked the president to formally recognize Carpatho-Ukraine's contribution to nation-building.

"The [BVCS] petitions the president to declare March 15 as a national holiday in Ukraine and to create a new Order of Avhustyn Voloshyn to be bestowed on those who work for the good of Ukraine," Mr. Bajer said.

Ukraine's consul general in Toronto, Mykola Kyrychenko, also spoke at the banquet. The diplomat focused on Carpatho-Ukraine's opposition to the Nazis and their allies. "Carpatho-Ukraine was in fact the first nation to resist the fascist onslaught on Europe," said Mr. Kyrychenko.

Mr. Kyrychenko added that the nation-building experience of Carpatho-Ukraine was part of the general awakening of Ukrainians to the need for their own state. He recognized President Voloshyn as "a great son of the Ukrainian nation," and read a letter from Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada, Volodymyr Khandogiy, part of which stated, "those fighting for the independence of Carpatho-Ukraine, including Avhustyn Voloshyn, were heroes of Ukraine."

However, the consul skirted the matter of Mr. Bajer's request. Reached at the consulate a few days after the banquet, Mr. Kyrychenko said he had no official comment. "In order for there to be any response from the government, Mr. Bajer's request must be presented to me or to the government in writing," the consul said.

Mr. Bajer said the BVCS will draw up a formal request on its letterhead and forward it to Mr. Kyrychenko in the coming weeks.

It is interesting to note that the soldiers of the Carpathian Sich are officially recognized by the Ukrainian government as combatants on its side during the Second World War, and as such are entitled to a pension. Fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and soldiers of the Halychyna Division have not been granted this recognition.

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