Congressional reception celebrates Ukraine's independence anniversary (10/15/00)

Congressional reception celebrates Ukraine's independence anniversary

Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON - The annual Congressional reception commemorating the anniversary of Ukrainian independence was held on Wednesday evening, September 20, in the Senate's Hart Office Building. Coming on the heels of a major conference on Ukraine's nation-building held in Washington, the event provided an opportunity for Ukrainian Americans to greet members of Congress and thank them for their active support and advocacy of Ukrainian issues.

Sponsored by the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus (CUC), the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC), the reception brought nearly 150 people gathered to observe the annual tradition on Capitol Hill.

The evening began with opening remarks from UNIS Director Michael Sawkiw Jr., who served as master of ceremonies. "What a momentous time to be in Washington to celebrate the ninth annual commemoration of Ukrainian Independence Day," said Mr. Sawkiw noting that the event followed a successful two-day conference titled "Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood: A Roundtable," with participants from academia and business, and officials from the American and Ukrainian governments.

The Rev. Stephen Zeneuch, pastor of St. Andrew's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Silver Spring, Md., delivered the invocation.

Among the first congressional guests to address the assembled participants was Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.). Having served for years in the House of Representatives and now nearly 15 years in the United States Senate, he is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and fervently supports continued U.S. assistance to Ukraine.

Sen. Sarbanes acknowledged participants from Maryland and stated, "We are fortunate here in Maryland to have a very active Ukrainian American community ... you prevail in business, the arts, academia and enrich the cultural, intellectual and political life of our state." The senator recalled the "dark days" when Ukrainian independence celebrations were held during the times of the Soviet Union, underlining that the community had "firm immovable conviction, and in the end freedom and liberty prevailed."

Two officials from the Ukrainian government were present at the celebration who had also attended the two-day conference held in Washington: Oleh Rybachuk, chief of staff for Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko; and National Deputy Mykhailo Ratushnyi.

Acknowledgements were made of additional co-sponsors of the congressional event, including Sens. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.); Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.); Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), as well as Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), while greetings were also relayed from Archbishop Anthony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Bishop Basil Losten of the Ukrainian Catholic Church's Stamford Eparchy and Bishop Robert Moskal of the Ukrainian Catholic Church's Parma Eparchy.

The associate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, Beryl Hall, read greetings from President Bill Clinton addressed to the Ukrainian American community on the occasion of the ninth anniversary of Ukraine's independence. In her closing statement Ms. Hall added that President Clinton enjoyed being in Ukraine several months earlier during his European trip in May-June.

Representing the Ukrainian American community organizations that sponsored the event were Askold Lozynskyj, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC); and Ihor Gawdiak, president of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC).

Mr. Lozynskyj expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian community's friends on Capitol Hill and acknowledged their support for Ukraine. Since the declaration of Ukrainian independence," added Mr. Lozynskyj, "our friends have been most forthcoming in enabling Ukraine to achieve a certain degree of progress, becoming more market oriented, becoming, significantly more democratic and enabling the people of Ukraine to live a better life."

Mr. Gawdiak spoke of past celebrations of Ukrainian independence where "speeches were made in Congress from the podium, where we still were not certain that Ukraine's independence was a certainty." He added: "Next year, when we meet again for this commemoration of Ukraine's independence, we will be celebrating not only Ukraine's further achievements, its greater stability and its growing prosperity, but also a greater understanding and greater commitment by the new American administration and new Congress towards Ukraine."

Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-Colo.), co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, expressed his enthusiasm for working within the ranks of the caucus to enhance the relationship between Ukraine and the United States. In particular, Rep. Schaffer mentioned that "Ukraine is in a pivotal time right now, economically and politically, and we [Members of Congress] watch that very closely." The congressman related the important role Ukraine plays in the international arena as well. "Ukraine," he continued "is the linchpin to crushing communism permanently in East Europe, and I think Ukraine is playing a key role in accomplishing that."

Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, congratulated the Ukrainian American community for its "long tradition [of congressional receptions], which began long before Ukrainian independence here in Congress." The ambassador spoke of the progress made in Ukraine and accentuated that, "nine years of independence shows that Ukraine is here to stay, as a strong and reliable partner of the United States ... in its further development of a strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States" The ambassador reassured the audience present that Ukraine has a bright future and much to celebrate.

Jeremy Hekhuis, legislative assistant for foreign affairs for Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), sponsor of the Senate room where the reception was held, read comments delivered by the senator just several days prior.

Next, the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Rep. Benjamin Gilman, took the podium. Very well acquainted with Ukrainian issues, the chairman mentioned the sacrifices that Ukrainians have had to endure to obtain their independence: war, famine, repression, etc. "For the sake of their sacrifice and loss," stated Rep. Gilman, "an independent Ukraine should be truly democratic and its economy free of corruption ... Let us renew our dedication to those goals."

The last speaker of the evening was Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.). A founding member of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and a longtime advocate of Ukraine who has worked with the Ukrainian American community in greater Detroit, the congressman was introduced by Borys Potapenko, president of the Southeastern Michigan Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

The congressman congratulated the participants of the two-day conference held in Washington for, in his words, "you were able to dig beneath the surface of these issues. And they are not easy ones." Having opened the conference a day earlier, Rep. Levin said, "the conference has demonstrated a determination of Ukraine and all of its friends here in America to work on these issues."

Towards the end of the evening, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) also arrived to greet the audience.

Greetings from President Clinton

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