President Bush meets with champions of freedom in Bratislava (03/13/05)

President Bush meets with champions of freedom in Bratislava

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - U.S. President George W. Bush met with 21 "Champions of Freedom" from 13 Central and Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, during his visit to Bratislava, Slovakia, on February 24.

The group included Natalia Dmytruk, a sign language interpreter for UT-1, who is credited with helping galvanize independent media coverage of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections, and Vladyslav Kaskiv, a leader of Pora, a pro-democracy movement in Ukraine.

Speaking in Hviezdoslavovo Square in Bratislava on February 24, President Bush said "With us here today is a group of remarkable men and women from across Central and Eastern Europe, who have fought freedom's fight in their homelands and have earned the respect of the world. We welcome you. We thank you for your example, for your courage and for your sacrifice."

A White House press release describes the contributions of Ms. Dmytruk and Mr. Kaskiv as follows.

Natalia Dmytruk: The Wall Street Journal observed that Ukraine's Orange Revolution gained unexpected momentum from "small acts of courage by people previously uninvolved in politics." Natalia Dmytruk, the sign language interpreter for Ukrainian State Television (UT-1), was one of those people.

Angered by her network's refusal to broadcast the truth in the days following Ukraine's fraudulent November 21, 2004, run-off presidential election, a courageous Ms. Dmytruk acted on her anger: after "signing" the news on November 25, she unexpectedly pulled an orange ribbon (the color of the opposition) from her sleeve and informed her viewers that, "Everything you have heard so far is a lie. Yushchenko is our true president. Goodbye, for you will probably never see me here again."

Her action galvanized journalists throughout Ukraine, especially those at the major pro-government TV networks. Inspired by her example, hundreds of her colleagues at UT-1 confronted the network's owners, chanting, "No more lies!"

Ms. Dmytruk has humbly and succinctly described the motivation behind her action: "Without telling anyone, I just went in and did what my conscience told me to do."
Vladyslav Kaskiv: Mr. Kaskiv was a key leader of Pora (It's Time), the pro-democracy movement comprising mostly young people, which played a critical role during the November-December 2004 Orange Revolution. In the run-up to the Ukrainian presidential election, Pora mobilized voters and highlighted problems with voter registration lists. For its efforts, the movement was vilified by the former Ukrainian administration, and Pora activists were repeatedly roughed up by government thugs and detained by police on trumped-up charges.

Following the fraudulent November 21 presidential run-off election, Pora members moved quickly, gathering en masse at Independence Square, setting up a massive tent city in downtown Kyiv, and peacefully blockading key government buildings.

Led by Mr. Kaskiv and others, and enduring brutal winter weather, Pora members, often waving their distinct yellow banners, maintained a peaceful presence "on the barricades" for the duration of the Orange Revolution, refusing to abandon their tents until the announcement of the official vote tally on January 10, 2005, showing that Viktor Yushchenko had won the election.

Pora's rallying cry, printed on orange stickers that were liberally applied to government property during the protests, was this universal truth: Freedom cannot be stopped.

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