Leader of Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan visits the U.S. (12/11/05)

Leader of Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan visits the U.S.

by Serhiy Zhykharev
Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON - One of the leaders of the Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan, Mykhailo Parypsa, visited Washington on Wednesday, November 9. Mr. Parypsa heads the Association of Ukrainians in Kazakhstan and the Taras Shevchenko Cultural Society, as well as serves as deputy head of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council for the Eastern Diaspora. He is also a member of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan, a consultative organ to the president of Kazakhstan.

Mr. Parypsa arrived in the U.S. at the invitation of the Council on Defense and Assistance to Ukrainians of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA). During his visit, Mr. Parypsa visited numerous Ukrainian communities in the United States, where he informed Ukrainian Americans about the life of the Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan and thanked the community for its valuable moral and sizeable financial assistance in constructing Ukrainian churches in Pavlodar and Astana, as well as opening a Saturday Ukrainian school and Ukrainian civic center in Kazakhstan.

During his visit to Washington, Mr. Parypsa met with the deputy chief of mission of the Kazakh Embassy in the United States, Talgat Kaliev. During their conversation, Mr. Parypsa informed Mr. Kaliev about the life of the Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan and inquired about the life of the Kazakh community in the United States.

The meeting participants discussed possibilities for cooperation between the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the U.S. and the Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan. Mr. Parypsa emphasized that the Ukrainian community feels very welcome in Kazakhstan and has great plans for the future. In turn, Mr. Kaliev assured that the active participation of the Kazakh government and President Nursultan Nazarbaev in the life of ethnic minorities in Kazakhstan will continue.

While visiting the Embassy of Ukraine, Mr. Parypsa met with Natalya Holub, second secretary. Meeting participants discussed cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ukrainian communities in the Eastern diaspora.

Mr. Parypsa expressed satisfaction with the recent decision of the government of Ukraine to make the Foreign Affairs Ministry responsible for contacts and cooperation with Ukrainians abroad. The presence of diplomatic missions of Ukraine in the countries of residence of Ukrainian communities will facilitate the establishment of close cooperation between the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian diaspora.

Mrs. Holub also expressed confidence that the new department in the Foreign Ministry will make such cooperation much closer and more effective. She also stated that the government of Ukraine understands the importance of cooperation with Ukrainians in the Eastern diaspora, who face financial difficulties and are currently at the stage of forming a structure of organizations that would allow Ukrainians to preserve their heritage and develop strong contacts with Ukraine.

Mr. Parypsa mentioned several possibilities for Ukraine's assistance to the community in Kazakhstan. In particular, he mentioned the creation of a museum dedicated to former political prisoners in the USSR. He reported that the extremely valuable KGB archives that contain information on political prisoners who served their sentences in Kazakhstan, including those from Ukraine, are now stored without supervision and irreplaceable documents may soon be lost forever.

The Voice of America (VOA) also interviewed Mr. Parypsa in its studios in Washington. The interview centered on the role of the Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan and the current political situation in Ukraine and how the new Ukrainian government is helping Ukrainians outside of Ukraine.

Lastly, in a day filled with constructive meetings, Mr. Parypsa met with Susan Quatrone, a legislative assistant to Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), whom he informed about the life of the Ukrainian community in Kazakhstan. He also underscored the misrepresentation of President Nazarbaev in the Western media; his image in the media is often negative, which is not true, Mr. Parypsa said.

The Ukrainian community of Kazakhstan, he noted, is taking an active part in preparations for the presidential election in Kazakhstan scheduled for this December. Mr. Parypsa touched also on the topic of the political prisoners museum and asked that Rep. Pascrell spearhead the campaign in support of the museum's creation. Ms. Quatrone expressed confidence that this issue will find moral support in the Congress and promised to pass all details of the discussion on to Rep. Pascrell.

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