Yanukovych petitioned on appointment of human rights ombudsman for Ukraine (12/10/06)

Yanukovych petitioned on appointment of human rights ombudsman for Ukraine

BOSTON - Acting in conjunction with human rights activists and organizations in Ukraine, the Boston-based Ukrainian Americans for Democracy in Ukraine, Prof. George G. Grabowicz, Dmytro Cyzevsky Professor of Ukrainian Literature at Harvard University, and Dr. Lubomyr Hajda, associate director of Harvard University's Ukrainian Research Institute, on December 5 forwarded a petition to Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych calling for the appointment of noted Kharkiv human rights activist Evhen Zakharov to the currently vacant position of human rights ombudsman for Ukraine.

At the same time the group also forwarded letters to major U.S. administration and congressional leaders calling on them to urge the prime minister and other Ukrainian officials to begin fulfilling the pledges that they made regarding democratization, liberalization, human rights, a move toward transparency and the continuation of Ukraine's integration into the European Union and NATO, since they took office in August.

"Prime Minister Yanukovych said all the right things in his October op-ed piece in the Washington Post and in his various speeches in Washington," noted Alex Gamota, vice-president of Ukrainian Americans for Democracy in Ukraine, "but the time has now come to put his words into actions."

"He is either going to have to make some positive changes along the lines that he has indicated or he will show the American government and people that he has been insincere," Mr. Gamota continued. "We are calling on the prime minister to show his position on human rights, and we are also calling on our leaders in Washington to closely monitor his actions and to take appropriate action.

Prof. Grabowicz added, "Ukraine is at a critical juncture now. The conflict between the two branches of government, the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers on the one hand, and the president on the other, is coming to a head and threatens gridlock, and perhaps even anarchy. It is in everyone's interest that mechanisms of 'peaceful co-existence' be found and that Ukraine's progress to democracy and Western values continue. In this connection, the appointment of Evhen Zakharov as ombudsman for human rights would not only serve the basic purpose of strengthening the rule of law in Ukraine, but would also serve as a signal that political wisdom can prevail. We strongly urge Prime Minister Yanukovych to do the right thing here."

Ukrainian Americans for Democracy in Ukraine - Boston was founded in November 2004 in response to the fraudulent results of the first and second rounds of the Ukrainian presidential elections and undertook a massive letter writing campaign and petition drive aimed at major U.S. government officials asking for their intervention. Since then it has been involved in the Yushchenko visit to the United States and commemorations of the Chornobyl disaster.

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