Kennedys present Profile in Courage Award to Ukrainian president (04/10/05)

Kennedys present Profile in Courage Award to Ukrainian president

by Peter Steciuk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

BOSTON - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko continued his visit to the United States on Tuesday, April 5, with a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, where he was presented the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award by Caroline Kennedy and Sen. Edward Kennedy. Mr. Yushchenko was honored for his brave and unswerving leadership of the peaceful Orange Revolution in Ukraine this winter.

The Profiles in Courage Award, named for President Kennedy's Pulitzer-prize winning book, "Profiles in Courage," honors public servants who have made decisions of conscience without regard for the consequences. The award has been described as the "Nobel in government" and is represented by a sterling-silver lantern symbolizing a beacon of hope.

Mr. Yushchenko was selected by a bipartisan committee of national, political and community leaders including David Burke, former president of CBS News; U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine); Elaine Jones, former director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; Ms. Kennedy, president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation; Sen Kennedy (D-Mass.); and Patricia Wald, former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Mr. Yushchenko joins a distinguished list of past recipients, including Afghan physician and human rights activist Dr. Sima Samar; United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; former U.S. President Gerald Ford; U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona; and the Peacemakers of Northern Ireland.

The presentation ceremony featured an introduction by Paul Kirk Jr., chairman of the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and speeches by Sen. Kennedy, Ms. Kennedy and President Yushchenko.

Sen. Kennedy praised Ukraine's Orange Revolution and President Yushchenko's leadership of it, saying, "As we all know, at a critical moment in his nation's history, he took a strong and courageous stand for what he knew was right. He risked his life - and nearly lost it - in the ongoing struggle for democracy in Ukraine. His story is the story of honor, decency and the will of the people triumphing over fraud, deceit and intimidation."

In his acceptance speech, President Yushchenko recounted that he entered politics because he knew that Ukraine had the resources necessary for prosperity but hated the nation's rampant corruption and poverty. He stressed that the Orange Revolution has brought to power a new cadre of public servants, who are honest persons and patriots, not determined by old Soviet stereotypes. He also expressed the hope that Ukraine will take its place among the democratic nations of Europe and will begin a new strategic partnership with the United States.

Before arriving at the John F. Kennedy Library, President Yushchenko and his entourage paid a visit to Anastasia (Nastia) Ovchar, a 5-year-old Ukrainian girl who dragged her 2-year-old sister from a burning apartment and is being treated for severe burns at the Boston Shriners Hospital.

President Yushchenko spoke with the doctors treating Nastia, who told him that burns covered 80 percent of the girl's body and that she had approximately a 75 percent chance of survival. The president then met with Nastia's mother, Olia, before proceeding to the burn ward to see Nastia and bring her toys and gifts.

The Ukrainian delegation drove from the hospital to the John F. Kennedy Library, where a group of over 300 members of the Ukrainian American community awaited President Yushchenko outside. He arrived with his entourage, including Transport and Communications Minister Yevhen Chervonenko, Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk, State Secretary Oleksander Zinchenko, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Petro Poroshenko, and WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitalii Klitschko. They were greeted by the Kennedys and proceeded to the award ceremony.

After the award ceremony, there was a reception that was opened to the public. At the same time, there was a private dinner and meetings attended by President Yushchenko, the Kennedys and members of their delegations.

At the private dinner, Sen. Kennedy recounted the story of his grandfather's campaigns for mayor of Boston, saying that his grandfather, John Fitzgerald, realized he could not rely only on the Irish vote. Fitzgerald also pursued the Italian vote, highlighting distant family roots from Italy. Sen. Kennedy said that, similarly, in light of the turnout at the event from the Ukrainian American community, he will pursue the Ukrainian vote.

Ms. Kennedy Schlossberg then announced that two of her husband's grandparents were born in villages near Poltava, Ukraine, meaning that the family has Ukrainian roots. She announced that she and her husband plan to make a trip this summer to Kyiv, Poltava and the villages of her husband's grandparents.

Sen. Kennedy promised to lead the cheering for President Yushchenko at the next day's joint meeting of Congress. After having completed a customary exchange of gifts with the Yushchenko delegation, Sen. Kennedy spontaneously took a bronzed bust of John F. Kennedy from a display case in a private room in the library and presented it to President Yushchenko, saying that he wanted President Yushchenko to have something to remember the Kennedy family by.

The event was behind schedule, causing Sen. Kennedy to miss the last commercial flight to Washington. In a rare display, the Ukrainian delegation agreed to fly the Kennedys to Washington with them on their private government plane.

Much of the event was coordinated by Ukrainian Americans for Democracy in Ukraine - Boston, an ad hoc group created to call for honest elections in Ukraine this past winter. The organization's president, Peter Woloschuk, was asked to organize the event in conjunction with the John F. Kennedy Library. Mr. Woloschuk had prior experience coordinating visits of dignitaries, including U.S. presidents, Queen Elizabeth and Pope John Paul II. He was aided by Vice President Alex Gamota and Secretaries Tania D'Avignon and Oksana Kyrychok.

The organization advertised the event, distributed tickets to Ukrainian American organizations and Ukrainian parishes in the greater Boston area, and coordinated the media. They also arranged for a simulcast hall to accommodate those without tickets for the award ceremony, and arranged for the entire crowd to be invited to the reception, which was originally planned to be by invitation only.

The crowd of 900 was somewhat smaller than anticipated, largely due to a last-minute time change for the event after invitations had been sent out. The change was necessitated by scheduling conflicts.

On the day of President Yushchenko's visit to Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino signed a proclamation declaring it "Viktor Yushchenko" Day in the city.

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