Our Ukrainian diaspora gathered on many occasions during 2015 to show support and solidarity with brethren in Ukraine, to commemorate important events in Ukraine’s history, and to discuss ways to help Ukraine through its current crisis.
The past year was a particularly productive one for the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), the international coordination body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora. Representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians, the UWC currently has member organizations in 33 countries. And it continues to grow every year.
The UWC began 2015 with a worldwide appeal in the matter of Nadiya Savchenko’s release from prison in Russia. The UWC urged Ukrainians around the world to publicly support Lt. Savchenko, a political prisoner in the Russian Federation. Lt. Savchenko is a former Ukrainian air force pilot, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and a Ukrainian delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In a January 14 letter to Anne Brasseur, president of PACE, the UWC underscored: “The kidnapping, imprisonment, involuntary psychiatric evaluation and solitary confinement of Ukrainian Member of Parliament Nadiya Savchenko are all reprehensible acts that call for immediate and unequivocal action by the international community.” The UWC called on PACE to avail itself of all necessary means to secure her release as well as that of all prisoners illegally detained by the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO) also wrote public appeals on Lt. Savchenko’s behalf in mid-January.
On March 9-20, at the annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the WFUWO helped to ensure that Ukraine’s representatives had ample opportunities to present at the conference and that Ukraine’s women could speak openly about the violations of their rights to peace and security, as well as about their deteriorating situation under the strain of Ukraine’s defensive military response.
During the CSW, the WFUWO focused its attention on a few key issues: revealing the effects of Vladimir Putin’s aggression on Ukraine; providing a show of support for Ukraine’s indigenous Crimean Tatar community displaced in large numbers after Russia’s invasion of the Crimean peninsula; engaging in a discussion of the barbaric wartime violence against women in eastern Ukraine; and protecting those who find themselves in need of medical care while being isolated or displaced by the conflict. The WFUWO also expressed support for the well-being of all women in the world.
Ukrainian women leaders at a roundtable discussion with Dr. Maryna Poroshenko.
Ukrainian women at the CSW carried banners in protest against Russia’s war in Ukraine and distributed literature explaining the courage of Lt. Savchenko.
The summer was especially busy for diaspora organizations. On June 5, the Weekly reported that the Australia-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce would be fully operational by the end of the year to pursue business opportunities between the two countries. This project was initiated by the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations (AFUO) and Dr. Petro Matiaszek was named the chamber’s Kyiv-based president and Pete Shmigel the Sydney-based interim chair.
AFUO President Stefan Romaniw stated, “The Australia-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce will become a key facilitator for Australian businesses seeking opportunities in Ukraine and vice versa. It will help grow the current $150 million trade relationship for the benefit of both countries, and it will support the new Australian Embassy in its trade work in any way that it can.”
According to Dr. Matiaszek, market feedback suggests many potential areas of mutual benefit including international education, aviation, aerospace, mining services, resources (such as manganese, gas and uranium), hospitality, fashion, outsourcing of services and manufacturing, agriculture, as well as governance systems. Other areas of activity for the Australia-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce are organizing a business delegation exchange and advocating visa reform for travel between Australia and Ukraine.
Also in June, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko met with UWC leaders, President Eugene Czolij and Secretary General Stefan Romaniw, and UCC President Pavlo Grod. UCC President Grod was in Kyiv as part of a delegation that accompanied then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a visit to Ukraine ahead of the G-7 summit.
Mr. Poroshenko noted that the UWC is a powerful force in the protection of Ukraine’s interests in the world. He also expressed the necessity of countering Russian propaganda and promoting objective information on events in Ukraine. “Telling the truth to people all over the world is an extremely important mission not only for the Ukrainian president, Foreign Affairs Ministry, government and civil organizations, but also for the diaspora, the opinion of which plays a significant role,” he emphasized. Ukraine’s president also positively evaluated the results of the G-7 summit in support of Ukraine, noting not only its position on the issue of compliance with the Minsk agreements, but also the G-7’s stand that the annexation of Crimea was illegal. He highlighted the importance of a visa-free regime for Ukrainians with the countries of the EU and also with Canada, Japan and Australia.
The UWC leadership also attended a ceremony at which President Poroshenko posthumously presented the Hero of Ukraine award to the family of Senior Lt. Ivan Zubkov, who died heroically defending the Donetsk airport. Additionally, Mr. Grod and the UWC delegation met with Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Viacheslav Kyrylenko, who thanked the UWC for its support for Ukraine during its battle for territorial integrity, democracy and European choice.
UWC President Czolij reported that the UWC had established a mission in Ukraine in order to better coordinate actions. The established council includes Ukrainian diaspora representatives from 48 countries.
On August 1-2, with their indigenous homeland under occupation, the second World Congress of Crimean Tatars gathered in Ankara, Turkey – the country with the largest Crimean Tatar diaspora population. This world congress attracted 184 Tatar groups from 12 countries, representing some 200 Crimean Tatar organizations. The number of registered guests at the congress (410) defied the organizers’ expectations. Russia had mobilized all of its best efforts to prevent the World Congress of Crimean Tatars from meeting at all by threatening Crimean Tatars living in occupied Crimea, setting up a rival Crimean Tatar body it could control and applying diplomatic pressure on the Turkish government.
Andrij Dobriansky, executive board member of the UCCA and the sole representative of Ukrainian diaspora organizations at the congress, addressed the delegates by calling on government leaders in the U.S. to, “Put aside political differences and stand together with all of the people of Ukraine and enact sectoral sanctions against Russia.” The congress was also addressed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, who declared that the so-called annexation of Crimea in March 2014 “is temporary – because it is illegal.” In a statement read by Mr. Klimkin, Ukraine’s President Poroshenko affirmed that “Ukraine will never in any circumstances accept the violation of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people to live freely on their own land.” Mr. Poroshenko pledged that Ukraine, together with its international partners, “will devote all its efforts to restore legality on the peninsula and the return of Ukrainian power to Crimea.”
Piotr Hlebowicz
Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin delivers a message from Ukraine to the World Congress of Crimean Tatars.
Given the current military occupation of Crimea, this second world congress proclaimed as its goal the development of a strategy of resistance for the worldwide Crimean Tatar diaspora. The newly elected president of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, Refat Chubarov, remarked, “Despite repressions by Russia, the Crimean Tatars will never accept its policy and are struggling against it.”
In September the UWC held its three-day annual general meeting in Madrid. The meeting was held at the world-renowned Cervantes Institute and was attended by 64 delegates and 53 guests from 20 countries. Working sessions addressed the issues of countering Russian disinformation, defending the human and national rights of Ukrainians, coordinating international efforts to support Ukraine and developing humanitarian initiatives, including the UWC-sanctioned project “Patriot Defence.” On September 13, the UWC held a peaceful march – whose theme was “Ukrainians throughout the world with Ukraine” – through central Madrid. Its aim was to demonstrate support of the Ukrainian people in their struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity
In the fall of 2015, The Weekly highlighted noteworthy stories about the work of Ukrainian diaspora women’s organizations. First, the WFUWO held its general meeting in Stockholm on September 3-5, during which over 50 participants discussed current issues in Ukraine and planned the way forward. Reports of the previous year reflected the fact that Ukrainian women’s organizations are directing most of their energies toward raising funds for the rehabilitation of soldiers wounded in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, support for families of those killed and wounded, the collection and distribution of humanitarian aid and protective equipment, as well as organizing demonstrations and actively disseminating truthful information about Ukraine.
Delegates and guests at the annual general meeting of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO).
On September 29, Ukrainian diaspora members in New York also met with Dalia Grybauskaite, the president of the Republic of Lithuania, at an informal high-level discussion titled, “Future of Eastern Europe: Empowerment of Women.” President Grybauskaite had invited world leaders from Central and East Europe and representatives of several international organizations to discuss ways to draw the international community’s attention to the situation of women in countries affected by armed conflicts, as well as help women survivors of wars, especially in Georgia and Ukraine. The discussion highlighted the suffering of more than 1.6 million people – two thirds of whom are women and children – who have been forced to flee their homes.
Among those invited to attend was Ukrainian Congress Committee of America President Tamara Olexy and Ukrainian National Women’s League of America President Marianna Zajac. The delegation from Ukraine included Vira Savchenko, sister of Ukrainian POW Nadiya Savchenko; National Deputy Mariia Ionova, vice-chair of the Committee on European Integration; and National Deputy Svitlana Zalishchuk, chair of the Subcommittee on Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and Euro-Integration of Committee on Foreign Affairs.
President Grybauskaite underscored that women have made a significant contribution to managing the consequences of armed conflict. She added that women help rebuild destroyed cities and communities, and take care of refugees and the wounded. Therefore, they should be provided with opportunities to take an active role in restoring peace and resolving conflicts. According to U.N. estimates, between 1992 and 2011 women made up only 9 percent of peace negotiators around the world.
Continuing the theme of women, Ukraine’s First Lady Maryna Poroshenko hosted a roundtable discussion on September 30 at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations for women leaders of various Ukrainian diaspora organizations that are helping Ukraine. All present gave short overviews of the work of their respective organizations, after which Dr. Poroshenko posed questions to the speakers in order to better understand their activities. The purpose of the meeting was for participants to share their thoughts about the collective goal of supporting Ukraine through its crisis. Dr. Poroshenko ended the meeting by thanking the Ukrainian diaspora for being “an efficient diplomatic bridge between Ukraine and America.”
Also in the fall, the Ukrainian Heritage Consortium of North America (UHCNA) held its fourth conference in Washington at the Library of Congress on September 18-20. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and the conference’s keynote speaker, commended the UHCNA for its work, emphasizing the importance of collecting and preserving the record of Ukrainian culture and immigration to America. “This is a critical element in America’s history that has a major influence on our country’s policies today,” she noted, adding that this aspect is neglected by mainstream cultural and political policymakers. She also offered suggestions on how to make the Ukrainian story more prominent and pledged to continue her own efforts in that regard.
On October 28, the first bilingual historical marker recalling Canada’s national internment operations of 1914-1920 was unveiled at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv and blessed by Patriarch Sviatoslav. On a previous visit to Canada, Patriarch Sviatoslav had agreed it would be appropriate to display a commemorative plaque in a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church as most of those interned during Canada’s first national internment operations were of that faith. The patriarch addressed the audience saying, “Today we bless a plaque that commemorates the thousands of Ukrainians interned in Canada at the beginning of the first world war. They were suddenly viewed as enemies of the state.”
Anna Whittington
Members of the Ukrainian Heritage Consortium of North America in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress.
The patriarch thanked Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Washchuk, as well as the Canadian government for its sensitivity and support not only for Ukrainians in Canada, but also for Ukraine itself. Patriarch Sviatoslav said that all countries should follow Canada’s example in respecting the dignity of individuals and be responsive to the will of their citizens.
A day later, on October 29, following a raid in which Russian investigators said they seized scores of “extremist” books, Natalya Sharina, head of the Ukrainian Literature Library in Moscow was arrested on suspicion of “inciting ethnic hatred.” Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said that Ms. Sharina had circulated banned publications authored by Dmytro Korchynsky, a radical Ukrainian nationalist. Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture called for Ms. Sharina’s immediate release, describing the arrest as “the latest brazen Kremlin act designed to frighten the Ukrainian ethnic minority in the Russian Federation.”
UCCLF
Patriarch Sviatoslav blesses a plaque in Kyiv, at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, that recalls Canada’s national internment operations of 1914-1920.
Two days after the report of the raid, RFE/RL reported that Ms. Sharina denied the charges and claimed that Russian authorities had framed her by planting the extremist books in her collection. While under detention, Ms Sharina became ill. Russian news agencies reported that the court decided to put Ms. Sharina under house arrest and charged her with incitement of ethnic hatred, which can result in up to four years in prison.
In November, the UWC called upon Ukrainian communities to join the international effort to combat Russian disinformation by helping to document such incidents. The East StratCom Team of the European External Action Service, the European Union’s diplomatic service, was tasked with analyzing Russian disinformation, revealing its fundamental aims and tendencies, and reacting and effectively preventing further similar steps by the Russian Federation. In order to de-bunk myths of the Russian Federation, East StratCom had recently created a network that includes representatives of mass media, think tanks, individual experts, officials and non-governmental organizations that are to be the source of facts on Russian disinformation.
The Ukrainian diaspora ended the year as it began, with joyous holiday spirit. As in years past, thanks to the efforts of Austrian Scouts who travel each year to Bethlehem and bring the Bethlehem Peace Light to Vienna, member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization all over the world were once again able to disseminate this symbol of peace, hope and love throughout their communities, including a great many in North America.
On December 19, Plast scouts visited the Presidential Administration of Ukraine to present the Bethlehem Peace Light to President Poroshenko. Andriy Luzan, a member of the national supervisory of Plast in Ukraine, said, “We urgently need peace and that is why we brought this symbol of peace to you, Mr. President.” President Poroshenko responded, “Let this light be lit in homes in Chernihiv and Crimea, Zakarpattia and Luhansk. Let it demonstrate the unity of Ukraine and bring peace to all these homes.”
Presidential Administration of Ukraine
President Petro Poroshenko accepts the Bethlehem Peace Light from members of Plast – National Scout Organization of Ukraine.