LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (10/03/04)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

My vote goes to Ralph Nader

Dear Editor:

I found your September 12 issue ironic in that I agreed with both Dr. Myron Kuropas and Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky. Dr. Kuropas makes a good case as to why we don't need to vote for John Kerry, while Dr. Vitvitsky shows us why there isn't any need to re-elect George W. Bush.

I couldn't agree more. All I can add is that since the courageous Pat Buchanan isn't running, nor is the charismatic Jesse Ventura, the only decent choice for president is Ralph Nader. I can already hear Dr. Vitvitsky howling that under Mr. Nader, Ukraine won't get as much International Monetary Fund money as it did under Clinton's Democrats. My answer is the same as Yulia Tymoshenko's: "Ukraine doesn't need the phony IMF scams and debts!" Ukraine is one of the riches countries in the world (if only Switzerland would return the stolen billions).

All that the IMF chicanery has done for Ukraine is give rise to monstrous groups of mafia oligarch clans who have impoverished and terrorized the nation. I always ask every visiting Ukrainian dignitary, politician or government representative what exactly are they doing with all those IMF millions, and with no exceptions they all respond with a blank stare, shrugging their shoulders and denying that they ever saw one cent of IMF money.

I have failed miserably in trying to make any sense of IMF-Ukraine aid. I cannot trace one penny of IMF money to Ukraine. It seems that the money never even leaves the United States, but Ukraine gets the honor of paying off the debt. I would like to challenge Dr. Vitvitsky or any other reader of The Ukrainian Weekly. Surely there must be one person who can explain and trace one dollar of IMF money to Ukraine from its point of origin to where it is deposited and in which mafioso's pocket it winds up. Also please name names. I can hardly wait to hear the spin about how there is no corruption involving the IMF in Ukraine.

Dr. Vitvitsky, in his tirade against Republicans, forgot to mention the recent trip to Ukraine of ex-President George Bush at the behest (all expenses paid) of Mr. Kuchma's Pinchuk oligarch clan. One can only shudder at what kinds of deals were reached behind closed doors. In order to save face and pretend the trip had any legitimate political goals, such as advancing democracy or better still, fighting terrorism (that's always a good spin), the Bush team grudgingly granted a token meeting to Victor Yushchenko.

I still don't understand why Ukrainian troops are in Iraq (an IMF connection?) while Ukraine's real terrorists have filled Swiss vaults with the nation's stolen money.

Would the Ukrainian troops not be better deployed to Switzerland to retrieve the nation's wealth?

Dr. Jaroslaw Sawka
Sterling Heights, Mich.

The Ukrainian Weekly welcomes letters to the editor and commentaries on a variety of topics of concern to the Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian communities. Opinions expressed by columnists, commentators and letter-writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either The Weekly editorial staff or its publisher, the Ukrainian National Association.

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