EDITORIAL

President Yushchenko's message

President Viktor Yushchenko's whirlwind visit to the United States - he visited three cities in three days - was, by all accounts, highly successful. The Ukrainian president addressed diverse audiences of government officials, businesspersons, policymakers, scholars and students, and various VIPS, as well as the Ukrainian community. The presidential trip garnered media headlines in the cities visited, and beyond.

In Washington, which marked both the beginning and the conclusion of his official visit, President Yushchenko first met with President George W. Bush, who commented that his Ukrainian counterpart's visit opened "a new era of strategic partnership," and later with members of his administration, including Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Indeed, the signs of a new U.S. relationship with Ukraine were immediately evident as President Bush pledged to advocate lifting the Jackson-Vanik amendment's trade restrictions and to support Ukraine's desire to join the World Trade Organization and, yes, even NATO. For his part, Mr. Yushchenko told Mr. Bush, and countless others who listened intently to his words, that "The ideals for the new Ukraine are the ideals shared by Western civilization."

In Chicago, he told the business community, including representatives of leading international corporations, that Ukraine welcomes investment and that the country's new administration guarantees honest and fair "rules of the game" for everyone. He had delivered a similar message to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, stressing that he is "convinced that in the near future Ukraine will become a modern economic powerhouse."

In Boston, Mr. Yushchenko was honored with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award - a distinction that many have likened to a Nobel Prize in government - and he showed that he is indeed the people's president by visiting with one of his constituents, 5-year-old Nastia Ovchar, who was severely burned as she saved her 2-year-old sister from a fire at their family's home. Sen. Edward Kennedy said of Mr. Yushchenko: "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." Caroline Kennedy added: "In the face of corruption, intimidation and life-threatening danger, he remained true to the ideals of freedom, democracy and the rule of law."

Returning to Washington, President Yushchenko delivered a remarkable address to a rare joint meeting of Congress and was on the receiving end of an equally remarkable reception from U.S. senators and representatives. He told the Congress that "A new Ukraine offers the U.S. a genuinely strategic partnership" and highlighted the goals of that new Ukraine. He also outlined concrete steps that he would like the U.S. to take to buttress its strategic partnership with Ukraine. As well, he thanked the members of Congress for their strong support for Ukraine "in the hardest times of its history," adding, "It is in this hall that freedom for Ukraine was voiced at a time when the nation was deprived of its own voice."

Speaking at a gathering hosted by the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, Mr. Yushchenko said: "For the past 14 years we were independent but we were not free. ... From today, Ukraine has gained its freedom." Furthermore, the president underscored Ukraine's true identity: "Ukraine is not a neighbor of Europe. Ukraine is the center of Europe. Ukraine is the heart of Europe."

In Washington, Chicago and Boston, President Yushchenko received a hero's welcome also from all segments of the Ukrainian community. To them he addressed a special message, encouraging Ukrainians to work, live and invest in Ukraine, and urging those who had left Ukraine to return to their homeland. In Washington he was even more specific, saying, "If a Ukrainian heart beats within you, I beg of you to devote two years of your life to Ukraine, with whatever and however you can."

In short, President Yushchenko succeeded in delivering a strong and unambiguous message during his first visit to the United States - one that signals a long-awaited turning point in U.S.-Ukraine relations and will secure a positive change in international perceptions of Ukraine.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 17, 2005, No. 16, Vol. LXXIII

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