ACTION ITEM

Washington Post article: Get rid of Shevchenko monument

The opinion section of the Sunday, November 12, issue of The Washington Post carried an article titled, "Park Places: Let's evict the has-beens to elevate the worthy."

The article's author, John Matthews, recommends a number of statues in Washington be removed to make room for "more worthy national and international heroes better suited to memorialization than 19th century bronzed soldiers and other has-beens."

He further writes: "In the non-military category, a prime candidate for removal is Taras Shevchenko, a 19th century Ukrainian poet, whose bronze and granite memorial stands in a triangular park at P, 22nd and 23rd streets NW. In the early 1960s opponents of the memorial said Shevchenko was not only an idol of Soviet Communists but an anti-semite [sic] and anti-Polish to boot."

It is imperative that the Ukrainian American community respond to this demeaning and degrading characterization of Taras Shevchenko, which is an insult to our nation. All Ukrainian Americans and their organizations must respond to this Washington Post article; to remain silent will signal indifference to the national bard of Ukraine.

A sample letter is provided below for your convenience. E-mails may be forwarded to: [email protected], while letters should be mailed to: Close to Home, The Washington Post Editorial Page, 1150 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20071.

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Dear Editor:

I am disturbed by a recent article published in The Washington Post on November 12, 2000, titled "Park Places: Let's evict the has-beens to elevate the worthy." The facts within the article related to the removal of a monument to the national poet and bard of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko, are completely unsubstantiated. Claiming that Taras Shevchenko, as a defender of national rights for Ukraine from all its oppressors, is an "idol of Soviet Communists" is completely untrue given the fact that the Soviet Embassy in Washington strongly protested the erection of this monument.

Secondly, the author's bold assertion that Taras Shevchenko was an anti-Semite or anti-Pole demonstrates a total lack of knowledge and understanding of Shevchenko's works. Shevchenko, who wrote in the mid-1800s, spoke of the liberation of Ukraine from all its foreign oppressors. His hope, so simply and at the same time eloquently depicted in his poetry, lay in the regeneration of charity, tolerance and freedom for all humanity. I would advise The Washington Post editorial board to review the materials of its writers carefully before publishing accusations such as those in this article.

Sincerely,

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- submitted by the Ukrainian National Information Service, Washington.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, November 19, 2000, No. 47, Vol. LXVIII

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