Presenters share "perspectives and predictions" on Ukraine's presidential election (02/20/05)

Presenters share "perspectives and predictions" on Ukraine's presidential election

by Michael Komanowsky

JENKINTOWN, Pa. - A timely presentation on "Elections in Ukraine: Perspectives and Predictions" was given in the Basilian Spiritual Center at St. Basil the Great Convent, Jenkintown, Pa., on January 30, by Dr. Taras Kuzio, visiting professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs, George Washington University. It was sponsored by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA) in conjunction with the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center (UHSC) at Manor College.

On behalf of Len Grossman, past president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AJC and member of the organizing committee, Mike Slotznick, a board member, remarked with regard to recent events in Ukraine that "no amount of dioxin, no amount of meddling from the East, and no amount of state-controlled media electioneering could stop the truth and the will of the people."

Mr. Slotznick thanked members of the Ukrainian community for their close and friendly cooperation, mentioning by name Metropolitan Stefan Soroka, Dr. Zenia Chernyk and Vera Andryczyk of the UFA; Christine Prokopowych of the UHSC, and many others. Mr. Slotznick saluted them "for their dogged championing of Ukrainian freedom for so many decades." He also reminded the audience that it was the Philadelphia Chapter of the AJC that together with the national Jewish organization denounced the slandering of Ukrainians on NBC's program "60 Minutes," and that Metropolitan Soroka was the only national figure that condemned Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" for "its un-Christian doctrines."

Sister Cecilia, president of Manor College, described her journey to Ukraine to visit her relatives. She found the countryside in deplorable conditions with factories abandoned, housing projects half-finished, jobs non-existent. Despite that fact, its populace was proud to be living in an independent Ukraine, albeit angry over the government's mismanagement of natural resources. Sister Cecilia noted that two years ago people were already mentioning to her their hopes of having Viktor Yushchenko as their next president. Now "their expectations are very high and their hopes ride on the shoulders of Mr. Yushchenko," their new president. "I, too, am excited about the possibilities of a new Ukraine," she added.

Dr. Kuzio was introduced by Dr. Chernyk, chairman of the UFA. He concurred with Sister Cecilia that recent events in Ukraine were indeed very exciting, especially during the week when President Yushchenko was finally inaugurated on January 23, only one day later than the date on which Ukraine declared its independence in 1918. During the following four snowy winter days President Yushchenko visited Moscow; the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France; the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland; and finally, the site of the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, Poland, during the 60th anniversary of its liberation by the Soviet army.

Dr. Kuzio recounted that, in Moscow, President Yushchenko informed President Vladimir Putin that he will strive to join the European Union without upsetting relations with Russia, which will remain a first and top priority partner. The next day, in Davos, he stated that the revolution that brought him to power has freed Ukraine from the burden of the past, declared that integration with Europe is Ukraine's principal goal and that Ukraine will join the World Trade Organization (WTO), and promised a vigorous fight with corruption that will be a boon to investors in Ukraine. "Help Ukraine and soon you will see how it turns into a beautiful European country." He also expressed a firm belief that he will be able to work with President Putin. In Auschwitz, he proclaimed that his nation went to Kyiv's Independence Square to defend the ultimate values of civilization, namely respect for rights and freedoms. "There will never be in Ukraine a so-called 'Jewish question' ...There will never be room in Ukraine for anti-Semitism, xenophobia and other forms of racist intolerance."

Unlike his predecessor, Leonid Kuchma, President Yushchenko was treated with great respect and admiration, and he was able to turn around the attitudes and opinions of world leaders and the whole world by 180 degrees, Dr. Kuzio underscored.

With regard to a newspaper article mentioned by Mr. Slotznik that describes a rally on Independence Square during which representatives of 11 religious denominations, including two Jewish rabbis and a Muslim imam, joined Mr. Yushchenko in a prayer for Ukraine, Dr. Kuzio explained that Mr. Yushchenko's association with Jews is very close. His chief of security, Yevhen Chervonenko, owner of a big trucking company, is Jewish. Mr. Yushchenko's father is a survivor of several Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Nevertheless, the Kuchma administration and the opposition called his supporters "Nashists" by mispronouncing the first word of the name of the Yushchenko coalition "Nasha Ukraina" (Our Ukraine). They funded an extreme right organization to claim to be Yushchenko adherents, and even accused him personally of having a Nazi past. In reality, Viktor Medvedchuk, the head of the Kuchma administration, who was pursuing dirty tricks in order to harm Mr. Yushchenko's reputation, had a Nazi connection himself- his father was a policeman during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine.

Dr. Kuzio then proceeded to explain how and why Mr. Yushchenko ultimately prevailed in three rounds of the presidential election in a campaign that took about 200 election days. During the 2002 parliamentary elections, Mr. Yushchenko's Our Ukraine coalition won by far the greatest number of seats, and Mr. Yushchenko's popularity and chances of becoming a formidable rival for the presidency became clearly evident. Consequently, the authorities initiated plans to diminish his influence in the Parliament, as well as to destroy his popular support by blocking him from the media and the controlled press while spreading rumors that his American-born wife is a CIA agent and that he himself is a pawn of the West, weak in character and unsuitable for such formidable tasks as running a nation. This propaganda war gained considerable success even outside of Ukraine, including the United States.

In Ukraine itself, the population was skeptical about any possibility of a democratic, transparent presidential election, as evidenced by the ease with which the authorities were able to subvert the electoral processes in the past. Surprisingly though, as the campaign against Mr. Yushchenko turned nastier, as several attempts on his life were made and especially after he was almost fatally poisoned, Mr. Yushchenko displayed Prometheus-like qualities, his oratorical style became more combative and his coalition gained in popularity. At the same time, the faults and failings of Viktor Yanukovych, the candidate picked by President Kuchma, became more and more apparent.

As a result, Mr. Yushchenko was in the lead in the first round of the election process on October 31, 2004, even though as many as 23 candidates took part in it - many of them secretly funded by the government in an effort to chip away nationalist votes from Mr. Yushchenko. Officially, it was announced that Mr. Yushchenko led by only about .5 percent but in reality he probably had a lead of at least 4 or 5 percent. That result was a shock to the authorities and, what was even more important, it ignited in people the hope that Mr. Yushchenko had a chance after all.

This initial success enabled him to increase the number of his supporters by Round 2 of the election, when he ran against Mr. Yanukovych only. In addition to his center right Our Ukraine coalition, Yulia Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party and the Socialist Party headed by Oleksander Moroz, he had the support of the Ukrainian Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs headed by Anatolii Kinakh.

The fact that Mr. Yanukovych has a criminal past and represents the most criminalized region of Ukraine convinced central Ukraine and the capital, Kyiv, to vote overwhelmingly for Mr. Yushchenko. For example, Mr. Yushchenko's native region of Sumy gave him as many votes as the Lviv region in western Ukraine.

In Dr. Kuzio's opinion, Mr. Yushchenko won the second round by about 4 to 5 percent; however, as expected, the Central Election Committee announced that Mr. Yanukovych, not Mr. Yushchenko, had won the election. The fraudulence of that pronouncement was obvious from results of exit polls and the numerous falsifications reported by observer groups made up of mostly young Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries.

Incensed by such injustice, the now famous Orange Revolution was born, as millions of people in Kyiv and many other cities demanded an end to criminality and corruption. A relatively transparent election was finally achieved on December 26, 2004, with Mr. Yushchenko as the victor, after basic amendments to the election laws were passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and fairer media coverage was introduced under duress by objections voiced from outside the country, including the United States, but primarily due to the success of the Orange Revolution.

Dr. Kuzio said he is very optimistic about the success of the Yushchenko administration. As evidence he cited considerable achievements during the president's first week in office. Whether Ukraine succeeds or not depends not only on the president but also on the leadership of the administration, as well as on its people. But together with the energetic Ms. Tymoshenko as prime minister, President Yushchenko will act expeditiously to obtain concrete positive results in order to ensure a satisfactory outcome in the important 2006 parliamentary election, Dr. Kuzio commented.

During the reception that followed the presentation, attendees excitedly discussed for hours the details of the presidential election, mindful that it connotes a key milestone in the history of Ukraine as well as in the history of Jewish-Ukrainian relations. No longer will there be a need for Ukrainians to revolt against foreign occupiers, be they feudal lords or servants of foreign imperial powers. No longer will the principle of divide and conquer be resorted to by foreign occupiers to stir up interethnic relations in Ukraine as was the case for half a millennium.

It is of interest to reiterate that Yanukovych supporters, with numerous advisers sent by Russia, did indeed resort to centuries-old dirty tricks by demonizing Mr. Yushchenko with significant success: disoriented by media censorship, Russians, Jews, as well as many Ukrainians in the eastern parts of Ukraine voted in large numbers for Mr. Yanukovych, even though he is a person with a criminal past and a stooge for Rynat Akhmetov, the richest oligarch in Ukraine of Tatar origin whose business partner met a suspicious death.

Finally, attendees agreed, there will be no opportunity for criminal elements to commit crimes and thereby stir up antagonisms among law-abiding, peace-loving peoples for ages. Henceforth, as promised by President Yushchenko, the rule of law will reign supreme.

| Home Page |