Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk of Canada honored as one of Ukraine's people of the year

TORONTO - Korrespondent, one of Ukraine's most influential newsmagazines, named Prof. Lubomyr Luciuk of Canada one of the country's "People of the Year" for 2003.

Dr. Luciuk is the director of research for the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The organization was credited with starting the campaign to strip Walter Duranty of his Pulitzer Prize.

Duranty was a reporter for The New York Times who knowingly lied about the genocidal Great Famine, or Holodomor, in Ukraine in 1932 and 1933. He won the award the same year millions of Ukrainians were dying from starvation and famine-related illnesses.

Under the title "Fighter for fairness," Dr. Luciuk was recognized as a finalist for person of the year by the magazine's editorial board for urging the Pulitzer board to "do the right thing," and for mobilizing Ukrainian communities inside and outside Ukraine to send their thoughts straight to the committee.

"To be mentioned in Korrespondent is an unexpected but pleasant honor," said Dr. Luciuk. "It shows that some people in Ukraine are keen on bringing to justice those who perpetrated the Holodomor, and bringing to the world's attention those who helped cover it up, like Walter Duranty, The Times and the Pulitzer committee."

The campaign ended unsuccessfully, as the Pulitzer Board decided that Duranty would keep his award for excellence in journalism. The news came on November 21, 2003, the day before the horrors of the man-made famine are commemorated around the world.

Korrespondent has a circulation of 50,000 with thousands more checking the magazine's Web site daily. Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Medvechuk, two Ukrainian politicians, were named "Persons of the Year" in the same issue.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 25, 2004, No. 4, Vol. LXXII

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