The Ukrainian Weekly 1982-45

8/14/2019 The Ukrainian Weekly 1982-45

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Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit associationI Ir a i n i a nIff

JV o l . L N o. 45 TH E UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7,1 982. 25 cents

C a n a d i a n d e l e g a t i o nt o M a d r i d g e t sW C F U r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s

OTTAWA - The Canadian Councilof Captive Nations and the HumanRights Comm ission of the World Congress of F ree Ukrainians have presentedtheir separate recommendations toAmbassador R.L. R odgers, the head ofthe Canadian delegation to the CSCEMadrid Conference which reconveneson November-9.

The memorandum presented to theambassad or from the Canadian Councilof Captive Nations, in which the Ukrainian community is represented by theUkrainian Canadian Committee, stressesfour main tasks on which the upcomingmeeting should concentrate. The memorandum, presented by a -,l2-persen--delegation on October 19, in Ottawa,represented the Byelorussian; Czechoslovak, Estonian, Hungarian^ Latvian,Lithuanian, Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian communities.The Canadian Council would like tosee the fifth session of the MadridReview meeting reaffirm a commitmentto the principles and provisions of theFinal Act by all the signatory states.The council said it w ould like to see themeeting used as a powerful vehicle forplacing the conduct of the Moscowregime and its Polish, Czechoslovakand other supporters in the glare ofinternational public exposure. Thiscannot b e done by "quiet diplomacy" o riby keeping the media away from theproceedings of the conference, thecouncil said, adding that it finds itrather strange that the positions expressed by the American or Britishdelegations in Madrid are often betterknown in Canada than those of theCanadian delegation. Thus, the councilsaid, there is a substantial scope forimprovement in communicating Canadian positions to the public at large.-5 The Canadian Councifiaid the thirdtask is to bring about an understanding'among the Western allies ^ h a t there isno prospect for a comprehensive agreement at this time and that chances foragreement on new initiatives under theCSCE process must await a more appropriate international climate. This wouldalso serve notice to the Eastern bloccountries that disarmament proposalscannot be seriously considered withoutmeaningful progress on the humanIrights issues.The final task presented by thecouncil is to arrive at a consensus thatthe third CSCE review meeting shouldbe convened not later than the fall of

1 9 8 3 .Besides the p resentation made by theCanadian Council of Captive Nations,the Human Rights Commission of theWorld Congress of Free Ukrainians(Continued on pap 2)

Ryan addresses Uk rainian lawyers; defends OSIby George B. Zarycky

EAST HANOV ER, N.J. - Allan A.Ryan, director of the Office of SpecialInvestigations, strongly defended thework of h is bureau and fielded a h ost ofquestions from Ukrainian attorneys fornearly three hours during the sixthannual meeting of the Ukrainian American Bar Association held here onSaturday, October 30.The meeting, attended by over 50attorneys, began on Friday evening,and ran through Sunday.The main topic of discussion at themeeting was the denaturalization proceedings initiated by the OSI, a branchof the Justice Department, against U.S.citizens, mostly of East Europeandescent, for allegedly misrepresentingthejr,W.pjrl(LWar lisejyicejrfien applying to emigrate to the United States.

In addition to Mr. Ryan, the lawyersheard from attorney Phillip Carlton ofFlorida, who is currently representingaccused collaborator Bohdan Koziy.Mr. Koziy is currently facing deportation.Two other scheduled speakers, BrianGildea and Ernest Raskauskas, couldnot attend the meeting. M r. Gildea, whorepresented Feodor Fedorenko in thefirst case prosecuted by the OSI, was inthe midst of a trial, and M r. Raskauskas

was in Canada getting depositions inanother denaturalization case.(For full coverage of the UABAmeeting.and remarks by Julian Kulasand Myron Smorodsky, see page 3.)Mr. Ryan, whose office is chargedwith ferreting out suspected Nazis orcollaborators'who may have enteredthis country illegally after World WarII , has been in charge of the OSI since1 9 8 0 . Since its inception in 1979, theOSI has brought denatural i zat ionproceedings against 28 suspected Nazisympathizers. Six of them have beenUkrainians. The office has conductedover 600 investigations, 210 of whichare still active.

After being introduced by UABApresident Ihor Rakowsky, Mr. Ryanexplained that he agreed to attend themeetingL-^axtly. -because, aifthiib e l i e f th a t " t h e t a x p a y e r sare entitled to an account" ofhis actions, but mostly because, in hiswords, there is "much mistaken information around about what the OSI isdoing."

In addition, Mr. Ryan said he wantedto address the subject of the OSI's"working arrangement with the SovietUnion," an area that has caused graveconcern and anxiety in the East European and Baltic community in theUnited States. Many of the witnesses

Fenwick, Dougherty losses hurtUkrainian cause in WashingtonJER SEY CITY, N.J. - Severalsupporters of Ukrainian causes wentdown to defeat in last week's off-yearelections, most notably Senate candidate Millicent Fenwick of New Jersey,but a number of key congressmen werere-elected.R e p . Fenwick, who declined to runfor re-election to her House seat inorder to run for Senate, was upset byself-made millionaire Frank Lauten-berg, a Democrat, who spent over S3million on a formidable campaign. Atlast report, he won by some 66,000votes.An ardent supporter of human rights,

R e p . Fenwick was a prime moverbehind legislation which created thecongressional Commission on Securityand Cooperation in Europe. She wasalso an outspoken advocate of consumer protection, environmental issuesand tax reform.Also in New Jersey, Republicanincumbent Harold C. Hollenbeck (9thDistrict) was defeated in his bid for athird term in the House by challengerRobert G. Torricelli.Across the border in Pennsylvania,Ukrainians lost two important congressional supporters. Two-term in

cumbent Charles Dougherty (R-NfchDistrict), co-chairman of the Ad HocCommittee on the Baltic States andUkraine, was defeated, a n d Rep. JamesCoyne (R-8th District) lost his bid for asecond term.In New York, Rep. Peter Peyser, aDemocrat, was defeated by Rep. Benjamin Gilman in a battle of two incumbents forced to run for the newlydrawn 22nd District. New York, whichhad 3 9 congressional sea ts, lost five as aresult of ^a pportionment.Both men were sensitive to Ukrainian issues. Rep. Gilman was an earlysupporter of House Concurrent Resolution 205, which asked the president toproclaim November 9 Ukrainian Helsinki Group Day, and Rep. Peyser wasdeeply involved with the Polovchakcase.Despite these losses, Ukrainians stillhave several congressional allies. InMassachussets, Rep. Brian Donnelly(D-IIth District) was re-elected to athird term. He is the co-chairman of th eAd H oc Comm ittee on the B altic Statesand Ukraine.In N ew Jersey, R eps. Chris Smith (R-4th D istrict) a n d Bernard Dwyer(D-6th(Coatinaad on pap 3)

Allan A. Ryanand documents used by the governmentin the denatural ization proceedingshave been provided by the SovietUnion, a fact that has led many emigregroups to fear that the defendants arenot getting a fair trial.One misconception Mr. Ryan said hewanted to clear up was that his officehas a "secret"agreement w ith the Sovietgovernment. He said he went to Moscow in 1980 primarily because many ofthe eyewitnesses to Nazi atrocities in theUSSR still lived there, and that theSoviets possesed captured Germandocuments that could aid in the OSI'sinvestigations. The Soviets agreed toallow the OSI to depose w itnesses, withdefense counsels present, and videotap ethe proceedings for use in U.S. courts,Mr. Ryan explained, adding that theyalso agreed to provide certified cop ies ofpertinent documents.

"The role of the Soviet U nion shouldnot be exaggerated, particularly in theinvestigative phase of the case," saidMr. Ryan. "We alone determine whenan investigation will be opened. TheSoviets do not tell us whom to investigate, nor does any other government.""In the course of investigations thatinvolve the Soviet Union, we generallyask the Soviet Union through thediplomatic channels of the State Department if there are any witnesses to(Coatiaaaa1 on pap 1)This issue of The Weekly is

dedicated to Ukrainian Helsinkimonitors on the occasion of thesixth anniversary o f t h e UkrainianHelsinki Group and th e designation by President Ronald Reaganof November 9 as a day honoringits members.In tribute to these courageousrights activists, The Weekly features a special pull-out section,encompassing pages 5 through1 2 .


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THE UKRA INIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, NOVEMBE R 7 , 1 9 8 2 N o . 4 5

Ryan...^Continued d o e pate 1)the events in question, or any witnesseswriphaTye pertinent knowledge of theevents or persons being investigated,"sajd M E Ryan. "Many times the answercomes Sack negative, or perhaps a fewwitness statements forwarded tp us fallshort of the evidence we need to file acase, even combined with evidence fromour other sources.".^lany times, M r. Ryan said, his office

reeewes witness statements taken bylo^L^oviet authorities but these are notused as evidence and are only helpful forinvestigative purposes." Mr. Ryan then went on to give adetailed description of the proceduressurrounding the deposition of Sovietwitnesses, indicating that the prosecution does not have an opportunity tospeak to witnesses beforehand, as isoften done in the United States."The depositions are attended by aSoviet official, usually from the localprocuracy, an official from the American Em bassy in Moscow, cou nsels forthe government and the defense, anAmerican court reporter and an OSItechnician handling the videotape,"explained Mr. Ryan. "The Sovietofficial begins the proceeding by establishing the identity of the witness,usually by means of his official passport, by advising the witness of his rightto give testimony in his native language,and by warning the witness of thepenalty of giving false testimony. Thewitness then promises, as do witnessesin this country, to testify truthfully."After the translator and videotapeoperator are told to transcribe accurately, the witness is turned over for questions from the government counsel andcross-examination by the defense counsel, said Mr. Ryan, adding that there isno time limit on the proceedings.Mr. Ryan did admit that there weretimes when a Soviet official "hasdirectedcounsel not to pursue a certain questionor line of questions," but he explainedthat this was usually done on thegrounds of relevance. But, if a defensecounsel feels that he has been improperly

prohibited from following a certain lineof questioning, he can raise the pointwith the judge d uring the trial itself, henoted.As to the charge made by manyemigre groups that Soviet witnesses arenot trustworthy and say whatever theSoviet government instructs them tosay, Mr. Ryan said that on severaloccasions the witnesses have identified adefendant as a collaborator but couldnot place him at an atrocity they hadwitnessed, a fact that he said hardlysuggests a pattern of coerced testimony."Second, it has traditionally been thefunction of the finder of fact to determine if a witness is telling the truth, and1 have no reason to think that judges areany the less capable of carrying out thatduty simply because the w itness is aSoviet citizen," said Mr. Ryan.He added that he did not feel "thatSoviet methods are so cunning and sotreacherous that they are consistentlyable to force witnesses to lie withoutbeing found out by the prosecution, thedefense or the court."

"I, for one, have a higher regard forthe American legal process than that,"he said.As to the taped depositions, Mr.Ryan said that they are available forviewing, and he invited members of theUABA to come to Washington and seethe videotapes for themselves.In the matter of Soviet-supplieddocuments, Mr. Ryan said that he didnot agree with the contention made byemigre groups that these documentsmay be forged, saying that "no one inthe State Department or the intelligencecomm unity has identified to me anyknown instances of Soviet tamperingwith evidence in Western judicial proceedings.""The chief prosecutor of war crimesin West Germany, who has been dealingwith the Soviet Union for 25 years, has

told me that he has never seen aninstance of Soviet forgery in his experience," Mr. Ryan told the gathering.Mr. Ryan concluded his address byasking the Ukrainian community towork with him to bring Nazi collaborators to justice, saying that efforts to h alt

C a n a d i a n d e l e g a t i o n . . .(Continued from page 1)also p resented a statement to the Canadian delegation to the CSCE MadridConference. The com mission asked thatthe Canadian delegation "single out theUkrainian Helsinki monitors as thelargest imprisoned Helsinki group - 31

members serving a total of 192 years."The commission went on to say: "Ithas been repeatedly pointed out that theHelsinki Final Act is not a treaty - it isnot legally binding under internationallaw." Portions of the final act do nothave legal character but instead constitute essentially moral and politicalundertakings, the Human Rights Commission noted. For a defaulting state,failure to fulfill moral and politicalobligations entails at least a loss ofprestige and credibility, and this can, inturn, result in a deterioration of political relations, it added.The commission's statement went onto say: "The consequences of repudiation, particularly for those who relyheavily upon the Helsinki Accords asthe only formal recognition of thechanged frontiers that followed WorldWar II would surely be as serious as if itwere a legally b inding treaty. Even if theaccords cannot be the subject of anaction before the International Court ofJustice, the consequences of repudiation must be as great a motivation forcontinuing discussion pursuant to itsterms, as would be a desire to avoid acondem nation by the International

Court for non-fulfillment of a treaty."One more tactical consideration wasadded by the commission: that in theabsence of a formal treaty legitimizingthe boundary changes which followedWorld War II, it was the Soviet Unionand its allies who were most anxious tobring about a Conference on Securityand Cooperation in Europe, thus it iseasy to see that it would not be in theirinterests to denounce the HelsinkiAccords or to suggest that there were nolasting mutual agreements arrived at."This aspect of the Helsinki agreementhas perhaps not been sufficiently underscored at the Madrid meetings wheresome correlation could be made betweenthe violations of human rights and therecognition of the changed frontier thatfollowed World War II," the statementsaid.The commission asked the delegationto condemn the persecution of religiousbelievers in the USSR, particularly thetorture and beatings of Ukrainianpriests and monks of the PochayivMonastery in 1980-81. It stressed the

deplorable em igration record for U krainians who have relatives living inCanad a, particularly the Sichko fam ily.In closing, the commission requestedthe Canadian delegation in Madrid to"pursue very vigorously the cases ofUkrainian dissidents which they haveraised previously and take up new casesof those w ho are in dire need of medicalattention, such as Ivan Svit lychny,Zinoviy Krasivsky, Mykola Plakhotniukand all those invalid prisoners."

the work of his office reflect poorly onthe community and do not advance theUkrainian cause."I believe that the Ukrainian peoplein this country, the Latvian, Lithuanian,Russian, Czech and Rumanian, andCroatian people in this country, haveseen too much of their family homelands stained with the blood of innocentpeople and not only in this century -to give any sanctuary to those who areguilty of any part of that bloodshed,"said Mr. Ryan.Question-and-answer session

After Mr. Ryan concluded his remarks, Mr. Rakowsky briefly remindedlisteners that only attorneys could askquestions of Mr. Ryan.The first question dealt with the caseof Fedor Fedorenko, the revocation ofwhose citizenship by an Appeals Courtwas upheld by the U.S. Supreme Courtin 1981 even though a lower court hadearlier ruled in his favor. The SupremeCourt, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that eventhough Mr. Fedorenko was cleared ofpersonally taking part in any persecutions, the fact that he withheld information about his service as a camp guard atTreblinka, regardless if it was involuntary, was grounds for deportation forviolating the Displaced Persons Act,which' prohibited the granting of visasto persons "who assisted in persecutingcivilians."

Mr. Ryan was asked if, given the factthat it was never established that Mr.Fedorenko personally took part in anyatrocities, he was not denaturalizedsolely on the basis of not m entioning onhis entry application that he was aguard, and if the mere falsification ofany information such as birthda^es,then, could be used as sole grounds fordeportation."Being a guard at Treblinka is itselfan act of persecution because the recordis clear that the guards at death campsunder Nazi control w ere not like guardsin the state p enitentiary, who are justsort of there to make sure that nothinggets out of hand ," said Mr. Ryan."Guards at a death camp...were incidentally caught up in the process ofpersecution."A startling aspect of the Fedorenkocase was raised later in the questionperiod when a lawyer asked Mr. Ryanto read an excerpt from an October 27,1978, issue' o f the Natio nal LawJournal, in which he argued, when hewas with the solicitor general's office,that the government not appeal thedecision exonerating the defendant.The solicitor general's office decideswhich government cases are to beappealed.

The article said, in part: "The Nazideportation case argued before the U.S.

Supreme Court last week by U.S.Attorney General Benjamin Civillettiwas so weak on the facts and the lawthat it should never have been appealed,according to an internal Justice Department memorandum written two yearsago by the current head of the department's Nazi-hunting unit."In that mem o, Mr. Ryan w rote: "Ithink we are at a dead-end in this case.We do not know today for sure ifFedorenko was a war criminal or not.He may be, or he may be theunfortunate victim of innocently mistaken identification, or indeed, he maybe the target of a group of Treblinkasurvivors who are determined to bringvengeance on any Treblinka guardguilty or not. We simply do not know."

Mr. Ryan explained that at the timehe wrote the confidential m emo, he hadnot read the transcript of the trial, butmade his recommendation not to appealbased on a weak joint statement by theU.S. attorney and the immigrationservice, and on the fact that the judge inthe Fedorenko case said in his opinionthat the defendant was innocent, makingit a credibility issue between the opinions of a U.S. judge and six prosecution w itnesses."After 1 read the transcript, after Isaw what Fedorenko had actually said,what the witnesses had actually said, 1pulled back my earlier memo... and Iwrote a memo that was clearly thelongest memo that I ever wrote in theexecutor's office, about 50 pages, and Iread through the evidence specifically,and I said the trial judge simply did no taccurately, in his opinion, convey theevidence in the case," said Mr. Ryan."The actual transcript paints quite adifferent picture."Mr. Ryan said he declined to turnover the second memo to the NationalLaw Review because it-was confidential.Asked why he decided to read the

entire transcript of the Fedorenko caseafter recommending that it not beappealed, Mr. Ryan said that, afterreading the judge's opinion, he becameinterested in the case because it had todo with Nazi collaborators.When asked later why Mr. Civillettichose to argue the Fedorenko case, theonly one he ever tried as attorneygeneral, Mr. Ryan said he could onlyguess "that he chose it to symbolicallydemonstrate, as attorney generals havebeen doing for many years, to theSupreme Court, the importance that thegovernment of the United States placedon that particular case."As to the question of members of theGerman-controlled Ukrainian police or

any organizat ion on the so-cal ledinimical list, a list of organizationsproscribed under the Displaced PersonsAct, Mr. Ryan said that the federal(Continued on page 13)

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N o , 4 5 ,. TH E UK RAIN I AN W EEK LY S UN DAY, N O VEM BER 7 . 1 9 8 2

Ukrainian lawyers hold annual meetingE A S T HA N OV E R , N .J . - Over 50Ukrainian American lawyers from asfar away as California, M innesota andVermont, attended the sixth annualmeeting o f the Ukrainian Am erican BarA ssociation here at the Ramada Inn onOctober 29-31.The weekend meeting featured a talkby Allan A . R yan, head of the Office ofSpecial Investigations, and an unscheduled address by Phillip Carlton, anattorney representing B ohdan K oziy,now facing deportat ion after beingstripped of his citizenship for allegedlymisrepresenting his background whenapplying to enter the U nited States afterW orld W ar II .(For a co mplete report on Mr. Ryan'sappearance and M r. Carlton's talk, seepage 1).In addition to M essrs. Ryan andCarlton, Chicago attorney Julian K ulasprovided a summation of the case ofW alter Po lov chak , the 14-year-oldUkrainian boy in the midst of a protracted legal battle to remain in thiscountry after running away from hisparents in 1981.N ew Jersey lawyer M yroslav Sm o-rodsky, who was a public member of the1980 U .S. delegation to the MadridConference on Security and Cooperationin Europe, gave an after-dinner presentation on "H uman R ights: W herefromand Whereto."The m eeting was opened o n Saturdaym o r ni ng by U A B A Pr e s i de nt I ho rRakowsky, who informed guests aboutthe U AB A 's initiative in the area of thedenaturalization proceedings.He noted that the UABA's positionon the matter had been related to theO SI at a W ashington meeting inJanuary between M r. R yan and severalethnic lawyers, including Ivan Shandor,UA BA vice president.On M arch 12, Mr. Rakowsky wento n, he and M r. Shando r met withseveral congressmen , including R ep.Ro mano M azzoli (D-K y.), and broughtup such matters as the rights of denaturalized citizens under the law.Mr. Rakowsky added that in May hemet with other attorneys at the EstonianHouse in New York to discuss legaltactics and strategy in the denaturalization trials.He then introduced M r. Kulas, whowas scheduled to appear later but wasasked to speak because of the absence ofattorney Ernest Raskauskas, whocould not attend the meeting because hewas taking depositions in Canada.M r. K ulas provided an overview o fthe case, no ting that four weeks ago theIllinois Supreme Court had agreed tohear the case, a mo ve' oppo sed by theAm erican Civil L iberties Unio n whichis representing W alter's parents, whohave returned to the Soviet Union.M r. K ulas said that the most impor

tant development in the case to date hasbeen the federal government's decisionto grant W alter political asylum, because even though an Apellate Courthas since ruled that W alter sho uld no thave been declared a "minor in need ofsupervision," the government has said itwill defend W alter's asylum. M oreover,the governm ent has said that its decisioncannot be overruled by a state court,citing the so-called "supremacy clause"in the U.S . Constitution.T o avo id, such confusio n in thefuture, Mr. Kulas urged UABA members and the Ukrainian community tosupport the Peyser-M azzoli B ill, anamendment to the Immigration andN ationality A ct that would clarify thestatus of individuals who have beengranted asylum.The bilk H.R. 7167, was co-sponsored by Rep. Peter Peyser (D-N .Y .)and R ep. M azzoli. Mr. Peyser lost hisseat in last week's election.M r. K ulas estimated that the case,which is already two years old, willprobably drag on for several moreyears. M ost experts agree that if W alterreaches the age of consent before itsconclusion, it is doubtful he can beforced to return to the Soviet Union.He also revealed that he has receivedlittle financial support from the Ukrainian community, and has spent overS25 .000 of his own money for W alter'sdefense.Sunday's session w as devoted mainlyt o U A B A bus i nes s and e l e c ti o ns .Elected to the new executive were:Bohdan Porytko, president; Mr. Rakowsky, vice president; Bohdan Shandor , corresponding secretary; PetroStawnychny, recording secretary; andM yron Go nko, treasurer.A mo ng the resolutions ado pted at themeeting was a motion to compile andpublish a Ukrainian-English dictionaryof legal terms in collaboration with theSociety of Ukrainian Lawyers. It wasresolved to form a five-man editorialboard for this purpose.M embers also resolved to send aletter to M r. R yan thanking him for hisparticipation, but adding that he shouldbe aware that differences still remainbetween his views and those of theUABA and the Ukrainian community.The third reso lutio n dealt withsupport of the Peyser-M azzoli Bill.The UABA also approved a motion tosend a letter to the U.S. delegation tothe M adrid Con ference, calling on A tosupport imprisoned Ukrainian lawyerand human-rights activist Lev Lukia-nenko.

- It was decided to table two proposedresolutions, o ne asking the UAB A tosupport the defendants of the denaturalization trials, and the other calling forthe establishment of a UA BA scholarship for Ukrainian law students.

Fenwick...(Condoned frompage 1)District) each won re-election. Bothwere the original sponsors of HouseConcurrent Resolution 295, and haveactively supported House actions dealing with Ukrainian dissidents. Rep.Dwyer easily defeated Bertram Buckler,while M r. Smith beat Joseph M erlinoby a comfortable margin.In addition to Rep. Gilman, twoother congressmen sympathetic toissues of concern to Ukrainians were re-elected in New York. Rep. Bill Green(R-15th District), who has appeared atseveral Ukrainian rallies and demonstrations and last week initiated a letterto Soviet leaders urging the release ofdissident Zinoviy Krasivsky, edged out

Democratic challenger Betty Lall.In addition, Rep. H amilton Fish, aRepublican formerly of the 25th D istrict,was re-elected to a seventh term, easilybeating D emocrat J. M organ Strong inthe newly drawn 21st District.Among other pro-Ukrainian congressmen to win re-election were Rep.Don Ritter (R-15th District) of Pennsylvania, who will be returning for asecond term, and Rep. Do n Bonker (D -3rd District) of W ashington, who w onhis bid for a fourth term in the Ho use.In Florida, R ep. Dante Fascell (D-15th D istrict), chairman of the congressional CSCE, was re-elected to a14th term in the H ouse. First elected in1954, he is the second-ranking Democratic member of the Foreign AffairsCommittee.

C o m m u n i t y a p p e a lon the occasion of Ukrainian H elsinki Group Day

President Ronald Reagan has proclaimed November 9, 1982, a day intribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.A cting in accordance with a resolution passed by bo th H ouses of theU .S. Congress, the proclamation is the official po sition o f the president of theUnited States and the U .S. go vernment in respect to the violations o f humanrights in Ukraine.Observing the sixth anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian H elsinkiGroup, the president underlined his position in this way: "we renew ourdetermination never to forget the valiant struggle of the peoples of Ukrainefor their inalienable rights, and we pledge to do all we can to ameliorate theplight of those U krainians who have been persecuted by the So viet authoritiesfor attempting to assert their rights."T o mark this important event, the U .S. president's proclamation of aU krainian H els inki Group D ay, the External Representat ion of theUkrainian H elsinki Group is o rganizing a protest demonstration in front o fthe United N ations in New Y ork on N ovember 9 at noo n, along with a seriesof other actions.W e call on the U krainian community to support the E xternal Representation of the U krainian H elsinki Group in its efforts. M ay the comm unity'sparticipation become a proper manifestation of solidarity and aid to ourdefense movement and our entire nation in the struggle'for human andnational rights, and in the struggle for freedom and independent statehood.At the same time, let our participation serve as a means of fulfilling ourforemost duty to Ukraine.Ukrai ni an Nat i o nal W o men' s L eague o f Ameri ca - I w a n n a Ro z a n k o w s k yUkrai ni an Go l d C ro ss Natal i a IvaniwP ho t Ukrai ni an Yo uth Organi zat i o n. - E us tachia HoydyshOrgani zat i o n o f Ameri can Yo uth o f Ukrai ni an Descent ( O D U M ) - A n d r i j Sh e v c h e n k oUkrai ni an Acad emy o f Arts and Sci ences George ShevclovShevchenko Sci ent i f i c So ci ety - Jaro s law PadochUkrai ni an Nat i o nal Asso ci at i o n - Joh n O. Fl i sUkrai ni an F raternal Asso ci at i o n - Ivan OleksynUkrai ni an Jo urnal i s ts ' Asso ci at i o n o f Ameri ca - Olha KuzmowyczUkrai ni an P atri archal So ci ety o f the U . S . A . - Bo h d a n Lo n c h y n aUkrai ni an Medi cal Asso ci at i o n o f No rth Ameri ca - Peter MociukUkrai ni an V eterinari ans' Asso ci at i o n - Ro m a n Ba r a n o w s k yUkrai ni an E ngi neers ' So ci ety o f Ameri ca - Eugene ZmyjSel f -Rel i ance A sso ci at i o n o f U krai ni ans i n Am eri ca - Bohd an Las toweck y, Mykokt HanuszczakF ederat i o n o f Ukrai ni an Ortho do x S i sterho o ds i n Ameri ca - V alentyna Kuzmyc hB ro therho o d o f Veterans o f the 1st Di vi s i o n o f the Ukrai ni an Nat i o nal Army - Osyp HolynskyAm eri cans fo r Hum an R i ghts i n Ukrai ne - Ihor Olshaniwsky

WCFU-calis forcommunity actionon Helsinki day

OT TA W A - Canadian Sen. PaulY uzyk, in an O ctober 28 letter toPresident Ronald Reagan, said that thepresident's proclamation declaringNovember 9 Ukrainian Helsinki GroupDay is "deeply appreciated by freedom-loving Uk rainians not only in theUnited States and Canada... but also inUkraine."The senator wrote the letter in hiscapacity as chairman of the HumanRights Com mission o f the Wo rld Con

gress of Free Ukrainians based inToronto.The comm ission calls upon all Ukrainians in the free world to mark this day,N ovember 9, to unite in their efforts tohelp the persecuted Ukrainian humanrights activists in the S oviet Union.United, the Ukrainians in the diasporacan defend their brothers in the SovietUnion and show M oscow that they tooare adamant in their struggle for thedignity of each individual human beingas well as for the national rightsof everypeople, the Human Rights Commissionsaid."Your pledge on behalf of the A merican people, M r. President, 4o d o all wecan to ameliorate the plight of those

Ukrainians who have been persecutedby the Soviet authorities for attemptingto assert their rights' strengthens thespirit of the freedom fighters, and thespirit of democracy on this earth,"wrote Sen. Yuzyk.In closing, the senator pledged theW CFU 's full support of the U .S.governm ent "in all measures and activities which promote freedom, humanrights, justice and dignity of the humanbeing."

Helsinki Group Day eventsSpecial program

W ASH INGT ON - A special program will be held here in tribute to theUkrainian H elsinki Group on M onday,November 8, at 8 p.m. in the Rotundabuilding of the cultural center of theAmerican University.The program is organized by an adhoc community committee.It will feature addresses by PetroGrigorenko, founding member of theUkrainian Helsinki Group and head ofits External R epresentation, and byrepresentatives of other Helsinki monitoring groups, as well as U.S. government officials.The concert portion of the programwill be performed by bass-baritoneAndriy D obriansky and soprano RenataBabak.The Sm oloskyp publishing house.willexhibit publications and documents ofthe Ukrainian rights movement.

Embassy vigilPHIL AD EL PHIA - The Philadelphia-based Ukrainian Human RightsCommittee is organizing a vigil beforethe Soviet Embassy in W ashington onTuesday, November 9, on the occasionof the sixth anniversary of the Ukrainian H els inki G roup. The day waspr o c l ai m e d by Pr e s i de nt R o nal dReagan as a day in tribute to UkrainianHelsinki monitors.The vigil is slated for I p.m. Alsoplanned is a visit by committee members and others to the State Departmentfor the purpose of discussing human-rights issues.Further information about the vigiland transportation may be obtained bycalling Irene Jurczak at (215) 424-1348or Christine S hust at (2 5) 94 7-2795 .


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4 THE, UKRAINIAN.WEEKi.Y SUNDAY, NOVEMBE R 7 .1 98 2 N a 4 5

Hu ndreds a t tend Lydia Savoyka t ribute a t Ukrainian Institute

Lydia Savoyka, supervisor of Immigration CounselingServices, Migration and Refugee Services of the UnitedStates Catholic Conference, receives congratulations fromwell-wishers at the reception held in her honor at theUkrainian Institute of America. From left are CBS News

correspondent Dave Marash; John E. McCarthy, executivedirector of the USCC's Migration and Refugee Services;Lillian L. Poses, benefit committee chairman; Miss Savoyka;Walter Nazarewicz, UIA vice-president; and Dr. RostyslawSochynsky , the institute's public relations committee

chairman.

by Helen Perozak SmindakNEW YORK - Lydia Savoyka'sseventh-floor office at the comer ofBroadway and 32nd Street in Manhattan is always a beehive of activity,always filled with immigrants of allraces and social status. Miss Savoyka,the supervisor of Immigration Counseling Services, a v oluntary agency run bythe United States Catholic Conference,is there with he r staff of 11, talking t oimmigrants facing deportation, immigrants requesting visas to extend theirstay, and persons asking for help forrelatives and friends who have beendetained in jail on th eir arrival in thiscountry.On a recent Sunday, Miss Savoykaand her staff members met together atthe Ukrainian Institute of America. Asusual, they were surrounded by peopleof various backgrounds and variousraces. There were three Hasidic Jews intheir black suits and top hats, an Indianwith a turban on his head, and peoplewhose accents, skin color or facialcharacteristics pointed to v arious coun

t r i e s and con t inen t s o f o r ig in -Afghanistan, Poland, South America,Ukra ine , Czechos lovak ia , Russ ia ,China, Finland, Egypt, Spain.It was not a normal working day forMiss Savoyka. The day October 24 had been declared Lydia SavoykaDay by Manhattan Borough PresidentAndrew Stein, and close to 600 personsgathered at the Ukrainian Institute ofAmerica to salute M iss Savoyka for hercontributio ns to numerous ethnic groupsand her service to newcomers settling inthe United States.

Because Miss Savoyka believes thatAmerica is the greatest country in theworld - ^h e land of freedom andopportunity," as she told Daily Newswriter Joyce White for a story whichappeared in the News on October 24 -she has devoted 30 years of her life tohelping thousands of people from allover the world settle in this country.Prominent government figures, religious leaders of all faiths, ambassadorsand consuls-general from several countries. United Nations personnel andoutstanding representatives of manyethnic communities were on hand forthe occasion. Hundreds of guests wereseated in the second-floor ballroom,others stood shoulder-to-shoulder onthe landing, while still more listened tothe program over the public-addresssystem from the institute's main-floorlibrary and a room on the third floor.

Rep. Bill Green of New York's 15thCongressional District, who addressedthe audience on "Contr ibutions ofImmigrants to New York City," spokeglowingly of Miss Savoyka's career.

by Helen SmindakNEW YORK - The death of ThomasShepko, a free-lance illustrator, designerand art director for leading New Yorkart studios and advertising agencies for25 years, is being widely mourned by theUkrainian community. Mr. Shepko,who was also a musician and composer, died in Munich on September 25after a two-year fight with cancer.Mr. Shepko began his career in 1951,illustrating and designing greeting cardsfor the American Greetings Companyin Cleveland. In 1955, he moved to NewYork and spent th e next six years as anillustrator and designer, first with theKollmar and Firpo Studio and laterwith Burk, Dowling Adams.Changing to free-lance status in 1962,Mr. Shepko took on assignments fromNBC, art studios and such top-flightadvertisin g agencies as Young ft Rubicamand Foote, Cone ft Belding. His workappeared in the nat ion 's foremostmagazines. Mr. Shepko's illustrations,

Among those offering tributes wereRobert F. Wagner, New York deputymayor; George Gordon-Lennox, regional representative of the UN. highcommissioner for refugees; John E.McCarthy, executive director of M igration and Refugee Services, U.S. CatholicConference; Lydia B urachynska, president, World Federation of UkrainianWomen's Organizations, and the Rev.Joseph P. Fitzpatrick S.J., professor ofsociology at Fordham University.Special tributes and awards camefrom New York Lt. Gov. (now governor-elect) Mario Cuomo, New YorkCity Mayor Edward Koch and RabbiDavid Cohen, chairman of the Coalition of American Ethnic Communitiesand executivedirectorof the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. TheRev. Michael Zembrzuski O.S.P. presented an award on behalf of the Polishcommunity.The ci tat ion from Mayor Koch,commending Miss Savoyka on "yourremarkable dedication and outstandingservice...to almost every immigrant and

designs, TV storyboards and layoutprints for a variety of consumer ajidindustrial products and airline/shipaccounts were considered outstanding.In 1977, Mr. Shepko joined the artdepartment of the McCann-Ericksonadvertising agency, but he returned tofree-lance work two years later.Born in Cleveland in 1925, Mr.Shepko attended Ukrainian school andtook accordion lessons during hiselementary school days. He majored inart at the West Technical High School,graduating in the upper third of his classwith a scholarship to the ClevelandInst i tute of Art . He continued artstudies in evening classes at JohnHuntington Polytechnical Institute andtook an advertising course at Cleveland College while working for theManning Advertising Art Studio.During World War II, Mr. Shepkoworked for two years as a liaisonengineer (designer) for the ClevelandBomber Plant.Gifted musically as well as artistically,

refugee group which has come to ourcountry" was read by Lillian L. Poses,founder of the Governor's Committeeon Scholastic Achievement, who waschairman of the benefi t committee.Co-chairmen of the event were institute vice-president Walter Nazarewicz,who opened the program, and WalterHnatkowsky and Maria Honczarenkoof the institute's board of directors.CBS News corre spon dent DaveMarash, the master of ceremonies, readtelegrams and letters from national an dinternational personalities throughoutthe world. They included messages fromCardinal Terrence Cooke, archbishopof New York; Cardinal Mario Casa-riego, archbishop of Guatemala Cityand hon orary p atron of the event;Patr iarch Josyf Sl ipyj , pr imate ofUkrainian Catholics; famed bal letdancer Mikhail Baryshnikov; Mrs. W.Averell Harriman, honorary chairmanof the occasion; and U.S. Sens. AlfonseD'Amato and Daniel P. Moynihan.

Among illustrious guests spotted at(Continued OB pa te 15)

Thomas ShepkoMr. Shepko played the accordion andthe piano . He gave his time unstintinglyfor years as an accompanist duringrehearsals and performances of NewYork dance groups directed by JohnFlis, Walter Bacad and Elaine Oprysko.An affable and good-humored persona-

(Cont inued on pige 15)

Correction

The late Bishop Andrew RoboreckiIt has come to our attention thatthe photograph published by TheWeekly as that of the late BishopAndrew Roborecki was not in fact aphoto of the bishop. The Weeklyidentified the bisho p in the pho to ,which was taken from a group photoof Ukrainian hierarchs, as BishopRoborecki in accordance with thecaption provided for the photo in ourfiles. Our apologies.Our thanks to the Rev. PatrickPaschak, pas tor of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New YorkCity, for his efforts in locating therecent photo of Bishop Roboreckithat appears above.

ObituaryThomas Shepko, illustrator, designer


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N o . 4 5 J H E U K R A I N I A N W E E K L Y . . S U N D A Y . N O V E M B E R 7 . 1 9 8 2 5; . , 1 - ^w

November 9 ,1 982: day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupCommentary: how Helsinki monitors are honored in the U.S., USSR

by N ulls SvitlychnaThe representat ives of 35 states ,participants of the Helsinki Conference,will resume the activity of the Conference on Security and Cooperation inEurope on No vember 9 in M adrid.That same day marks the sixth anniversary of the establishment of theUkrainian Public Croup to Promotethe Implementation of the H elsinkiAcco rds, a group that was founded a s aresult of the signing of the Final Act ofthe Helsinki Conference.The founding members of-the Ukrai-n i a n H e l s i n k i G r o u p w e r e : O l e sBerdnyk, a futurist author, Petro Gri-gorenko, a former general in the RedArmy; Ivan Kandyba and Lev Lukia-nenko, jurists who had served 15-yearterms of imprisonment for urging thesecession of Ukraine from the SovietU ni o n; O ks ana M e s hko , a fo r m e rprisoner of Stal in's concentrat ion

camps; Myroslav M arynovych andM yko l a M at us evyc h, the yo unge stmembers of the group; M ykola Ru-denko (the group's chairman), a well-known author; Nina Strokata, a micro-biologist; and Oleksa Tykhy, a teacherfrom the Donetske region.The group saw as its principal goal"to inform the governments of theparticipating states and world community of violations in Ukraine of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rightsand the humanitarian provisions of theHelsinki Accords."Though the group's motives werehumanitarian in nature, So viet authorities began to attack this "newborn childof freedom," as M r. Rudenko referred

to the group, from its very inception.The M oscow H elsinki Group, publiclyannouncing the formation of th e Ukrainian Helsinki Group wrote: "The creation of a Ukrainian public group in asituation such as that which exists inUkraine is an act of great courage. Onthe first day of the group's existence, abandit-like break-in was organized atthe apartment of M ykola R udenko andO ksana M eshko, a member of thegroup, was wounded by a rock."W ithin a mo nth and a half after therelease of the U krainian H elsinkiGroup's first declaration (for completetext, see page 6) Soviet authorities hadbegun arresting its mem bers. Arrest did

not bypass any member of the group,with the exception of those few whowere fortunate enough to emigrate andM ykhailo M elnyk, who was saved fromarrest by death. F ollow ingasearchofhishome by the K G B , and the loss of all hisscholarly and literary works, M r. M elnykon M arch 9,1 97 9, ended h is life throu ghsuicide. Endless arrests and trials ofmembers of the U krainian HelsinkiGroup did not, however, halt its activity; in place of those who were arrestedcame new members. During a three-year period the group renewed itselfthree times and actually increased itsmembership threefold, because theimprisoned m embers did not cease theirrights-defense activities, but, on thecontrary, continued them even while inprisons and camps.

Vyacheslav Chornovil, a journalistand political prisoner, in announcingthat he was jo inin g the U krainianHe l s i nki G r o up, w r o t e o n M ay 22 ,1 9 7 9 : "For the duration of m y exile andpossible new term of imprisonment... Iconsider myself a member of the Ukraini an H e l s inki G r o up w ho i s o n ajournalistic assignment to uncover thesituation in places of deprivation of

freedom." Several members of theUkrainian Hels inki Group becamemembers also of the Group to.Promote Implementation of the Helsinki Accords in Places of Deprivationof Freedom, a Helsinki group withmembers of various nationalities thatwas created in the prison camps. Themajority of the group's members areUkrainians. M ore information o n theserights activists will appear in the nextissue of T he W eekly.The U krainian H els inki Grou p,despite relentless repression and losses,continued to inform th e world about theconstant violations of human rights inUkraine. The authorities responded byarresting anyone who joined the groupor supported it. These persons weresentenced on fabricated charges toprison camps, prisons and psychiatricinstitutions. Seeing that the imprisonedrights activists continued to b e steadfastin their convictions, the authorities

sentenced them to new terms beforethey even completed existing terms. Inthis manner, during the last year alone,in both camps a n d exile, the authoritiessentenced M r. Chornovil, Vasyl Ov-sienko, Yaroslav Lesiv, Yuriy Lytvyn,Petro Sichko and his oldest son Vasyl.Even family members were sentenced,among them M r. Rudenko's wife R aisaand another son of the Sichkos, Volo-dymyr.Underscoring the bravery of theUkrainian fighters for human rights,President Ronald Reagan on_Sep.te.m -ber 21 proclaimed a day in tribute to theUkrainian Helsinki Group on its sixthanniversary, November 9, 1982. In hisproclamation issued in response toH ouse Concurrent R esolution 205, thePresident wrote:"T he s po nt ane o us f o r m at i o n o nNovember 9, 1976, in Kiev, Ukraine, ofthe Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the Implementation of the HelsinkiAccords affirmed once more that thehuman spirit cannot be crushed andthat the desire for human freedomcannot be conquered."The long prison terms meted ou t tomembers of the Ukrainian HelsinkiM onitoring Group for their courageousactivities to secure greater freedom inUkraine are graphic testimony to theinability of communism to competewith the principles of freedom in the

marketplace of ideas. The flagrantpersecution and imprisonment of U-krainian citizens for their attempts toexercise basic human rights is an international embarrassment to the SovietUnion and proof that the Soviet Unionhas failed to live up to its pledges to honorthe understandings embodied in theHelsinki Accords."Such a high appraisal of the activityof the Ukrainian Helsinki Group is alsothe result o f th e great a n d valuable workconducted in the United States by-various Ukrainian community organizations in defense of persecuted rightsactivists, most notably Americans forHuman Rights in Ukraine. Such a highappraisal of the activity of Ukrainian

Helsinki Group members by the U.S.government, as well as the constantattention focused on them by AmnestyInternational , the P.E .N . Club andother organizat ions , as wel l as theconferral of international prizes ongroup members M r. Chorno vil andVasyl Stus , the nomination of thegroup's chairman, Mr. Rudenko, forthe N obel Prize all this fills usUkrainians with pride and gives us(Condoned oa pap 12)

Strict-regimen camp O S-34 /1 near Syktyvkar in the K omi A SS R .

Pres ident ia l Proc lamat ionof a day in honor of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group

The spontaneous formation onNovember 9, 1976, in Kiev, Ukraine,of the Ukrainian Public Group toPromote the Implementation of theH els inki A ccords aff irmed o ncemore that the human spirit cannot becrushed an'd that the desire forhuman freedom cannot be conquered.

The long prison terms meted out tomembers of the Ukrainian HelsinkiM onitoring Group for their courageous activities to secure greaterfreedom in Ukraine are graphictestimony to the inability of communism to compete with the principlesof freedom in the marketplace ofideas. The flagrant persecution andimprisonment of Ukrainian citizensfor their attempts to exercise basichuman rights is an internationalembarrassment to the Soviet Unionand proof that the Soviet U nion hasfailed to live up to its pledges tohono r the understandings embo diedin the Helsinki Accords.

In commemorating this sixth anniversary o f the founding o f the Ukrainian Helsinki M onitoring Group, werenew our determination never toforget the valiant struggle of thepeoples of Ukraine for their inalienable rights, and w e pledge to doall we can to ameliorate the plight ofthose Ukrainians who have been

persecuted by the Soviet authoritiesfor attempting to assert their rights.By concurrent resolution agreedto on June 21, 1982 (H. Con. Res .2 0 5 ) , the Congress authorized andrequested the president to proclaimNo vember 9, 1 9 8 2 , the sixth anniversary of the establishment of theUkrainian Pu blic Group to Promo tethe Implementation of the HelsinkiAccords, as a day honoring thatgroup.

O n this day Americans a re reminded of the preciousness of our ownfreedom, and w e reaffirm our cherished hope that the aspiration forfreedom will ultimately prevail overthe morally bankrupt rule of forcewhich denies human rights to somany in the world today.N ow, therefore, I, Ro nald R eagan,president of the United States ofAm erica, do hereby designate N o v e m b e r , 1 9 8 2 , as a day hono ring thesixth anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Public Groupto Promote the Implementation ofthe H elsinki Accords.In witness whereof, I have hereuntoset my hand this twenty-first day ofSeptember in the year of our Lordnineteen hundred and eighty-two,and of the independence of theUnited States of America the twohundred and seventh.Ronald Reagan


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THE UKRA INIAN WEEKLY . SUNDAY , NOVEM BER 1,1982 No. 45

November 9 ,1 98 2 : day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki Group

r a in i a n W e e k lyThe Helsinki commitmentThere is more than a modicum of irony in the fact that November 9, the dayproclaimed by President Ronald Reagan to mark the sixth anniversary of theformation of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, is also the day that the MadridConference to review the Helsinki Accords is scheduled to reconvene after an' eight-month recess.The paradox, of course, is that while the 35 nations meet to discuss theimplementation of the Helsinki agreement, 26 of the original 37 members of agroup set up in Ukraine in 1976 to monitor Soviet compliance are eitherlocked up in labor camps or are in exile. Six were expelled from the SovietUnion, one committed suicide, one is doing forced labor and three are free(if one can be free under the Soviet system).The fact tha t the g roup has been so stridently repressed reflects more thanthe Kremlin's egregious violations of hum an rights. It is also a clear reflectionof the stout-hearted courage of the men and women who comprise the group.When, on November 9, 1976, 10 Ukrainian intellectuals in Kiev formed theUkrainian Helsinki Gro up to pressure the Soviet authorities to live up to theirend of the original agreement, they knew that they were putting themselvessquarely on the firing line; that they would doubtlessly suffer for their

convictions.They knew this because most of them were former political prisoners, alltoo familiar with the Kremlin's limitless capacity for cruelty. Oles Berdnyk, ascience fiction writer, had already served seven years in a labor camp; IvanKandyba, a lawyer, had served 15 years; Lev Lukianenko, also a lawyer, hadalready served a 15-year term; Myko la M atusevych, a historian, was jailed for15 days; Oksana Meshko, a widow, had already served eight years; Gen. PetroGrigorenko had been forcibly confined in m ental hospitals; Nina Strok ata, amicrobiologist, had already served a four-year term; and Oleksiy Tykhy, ateacher, had served a seven-year sentence.Of the original founding members, only two, Mykola Rudenko andMyroslav Marynovych, had not seen the gulag. But they know it now.Between 1976 and 1979, 27 other s joine d either the Kiev-based Ukr ainianHelsinki Group or the labor-camp group, men such as Vasyl Stus, VyacheslavChornovil and Yuriy Shukhevych. M any of them, too, had suffered dearly fortheir beliefs.Why, then, were these people willing to risk so much? P artly because theysaw the Helsinki A ccords as yet another juridical base on which to build theirdemands for national and human rights in Ukraine. But also, one wouldsuspect, because they had faith that the Western democracies that signed theagreement would take up their cause, and because they hoped the spotlight ofworld opinion would, perhap s, force the Soviets to eschew their time-honoredpractice of brutalizing dissidents.Perhaps, naively, they overestimated the commitment of the West. In 1977,the Belgrade conference concluded with a final commu nique that was, at best,wimpish. Thus bolstered, the Soviets stepped up their campaign against theHelsinki monitors, a campaign that reached a rabid frenzy just prior to thestart of the Moscow Olympics.So what of Madrid? To date the marathon conference has limped along,hobbled by Soviet nitpicking and delaying tactics such as trying to obtrude adisarmament proposal of their own making on the conference. Granted, theSoviets have been roundly chastened for their grim human -rights record. But,as history has shown, they possess a high humiliation threshhold.Anotherfactor that does not bode well for this session is the succession question in theSoviet Union . The Soviets are unlikely to show new initiatives or a willingnessto comprom ise until the question of whose turn it is to hold the populace bythe m uzzle is finally settled. In fact, there are already clear indications that theKremlin has launched a broad new campaign against dissidents to avoid theremotest chance of instability during the upcoming leadership crisis.

Yet, despite these formidable obstacles, the Helsinki process must not beallowed to unravel. Th e accords embody the noblest aspiration of nations: aconcern for human rights, family reunification, freedom of movement, theexchange of ideas. The Soviets' gamesmanship at Madrid only serves tohighlight the seaminess of their system and their fervent desire to escape theglare of the interna tional spotlight. If the Madrid Conference does little else,it must continue to keep the spotlight burning.In designating November 9 as the day honoring the Ukrainian HelsinkiGroup, President Ronald Reagan was sending the Soviets a messageindicating that the United States , for one, is not willing to forsake the Helsinkimonitors a nd, by extension, the Helsinki process. As we commem orate whatis, at best, a bittersweet, occasion, we must continue to remind ourgovernment we support a strong stand at the Madrid Conference. In additionto the Helsinki monitors, we should remember all Ukrainian dissidents andpolitical prisoners, and all those persecuted for their beliefs in Ukraine, foralthough they may not be members of the Helsinki Group, they doubtlesslyshare the same universal concepts of freedom, human dignity and a respectfor national, civil and human rights.

D eclarat ion No. 1: founding document"Everyone has the right to reedom ofopinion, and expression; this rightincludes freedom to hold opinionswithout interference and to seek, receiveand impart information and ideasthrough an y m edia and regardless of

frontiers." - Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights, Article 19.We, Ukrainians, l ive in Europe,which in the first half of the 20th centuryhas twice been ravaged by war. Thesewars covered the Ukrainian land withblood, as they did the lands of otherEuropean countries. And that is why wesee as illegal the fact that Ukra ine, a fullmember of the United Nations, was notrepresented by its own delegation at theHelsinki Conference on EuropeanSecurity and Cooperation.We real ize that according to thetreaty of December 27, 1922, formingthe Soviet Union, al l internat ionalagreements, signed by the government

of the Soviet Union, also encompassUkraine. It follows, therefore, that theDeclaration of Human Rights as well asthe Declaration of Principles, on whichthe signatory nations of the HelsinkiConference are to base their relations,are in effect also in Ukraine.Experience has shown that the implementat ion of the Helsinki Accords(especially the humanitarian sections)cann ot be guaran teed w ithout theparticipation of the citizenry of thesignatory-nations. For this reason, onNov emb er 9, 1976, we formed theUkrainian Public Group to Promotethe Implementation of the HelsinkiAccords. Since the humanitarian articlesof the Final Act of the Conference onEuropean Security and Cooperationare based wholly on the UniversalDeclara t ion of Human R ights , theUkrainian Public Group has set foritself the following objectives:1. To acquaint the Ukrainian publicwith the Declaration of Human Rights;to s tr ive to have this internat ionaldocum ent become the basis of relationsbetween the individual and the state;2. Convinced that peace amongnations cannot be guaranteed withoutfree contacts between peoples and thefree exchange of information an d ideas,to actively promote the implementationof the Final Act of the Conference onEuropean Security and Cooperation;3. To str ive to have U kraine, asovereign E uropean nation and memberof the United Nations, represented byits own delegation at all internationalconferences dealing with the implementation of the Helsinki Accords;'4. In order to promote the free flow of

information and ideas, to strive for theaccreditation in Ukraine of foreign presscorrespondents, for the formation ofindependent news agencies, and thelike.The group sees as its prime objectiveinforming the signato ry-nations and theworld community about violations inUkraine of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights and the humanitarianarticles accepted by the Helsinki Conference. To this end our group:a. Accepts written complaints aboutviolations of human rights and doeseverything within its power to bringthem to the attention of the governments that signed the Helsinki Accordsand the world community;

b. Compiles this information on thestate of legality in Ukraine and, in fullaccorda nce w ith Art icle 19 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights,disseminates this information withoutregard for national boundaries;c. Studies instances of violations ofhuman rights with respect to Ukrainiansliving in other republics in order tobring this information to light.In its activity the g roup is guided notby political but by humanitarian andlegal considerations. We realize that theentrenched governmental bureaucracy,which continues to grow, can takecountermeasures against our legitimateaspirations. But we also fully understand that the bureaucratic interpretation of human rights does not reflect theful l meaning of internat ional legalagreements, signed by the governmentof the USSR. We accept these documents in their widest interpretation,wi thou t bureaucra t i c d i s to r t ions o r.arb i trar y l imitat ion s by off icials orofficial agencies. We are fully convinced,that only through this understanding ofthe Universal Declaration of HumanRights and the Helsinki Accords can areal relaxation of international tensionsbe achieved. It is to this end that wededicate the humanitarian and legalactivities of our group.

The M embers of the Ukrainian PublicGroup to promote the Implementationof the Helsinki Accords:Oles BerdnykPetro GrigorenkoIvan KandybaLevko LukianenkoOksana MeshkoMykola MatusevychMyroslav MarynovychMykola Rudenko (head of the group)Nina StrokataOleksiy Tykhy November 9, 1976

B ecaus e this issue of Th e Weekly is dedicate d to the UkrainianHelsinki Gro up on the occas ion of i ts sixth anniversary, the M adridC onference repor t conclusion has been pre-empted du e to lack o fspace. The conclusion wi l l be publ ished in the next issue of TheW e e k l y .

Ukrainian Helsinki Group founding membersNAME: Oles BerdnykBORN: November 25, 1927OCCUPATION: writerMARITAL STATUS: married; onedaughter, age 9LATEST ARREST: March 6, 1979CHARGE:"anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"SENTENCE: six years in a special-regimen camp; three years' exileRELEASE DATE: 1988PREVIOUS TERM: 1949-56CAMP ADDRESS:

618263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionpos. Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-lWIFE'S ADDRESS:Valentyna SokorynskaKiev oblastKaharlytsky raions. Hrebeni


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N o . 4 5 T H E U K R A I N I A N W E E KL Y S U N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 7 , 1 9 8 2-7

T

November 9 ,1 98 2 : day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupUkrainian Helsinki Group founding members

NAME: Petro GrigorenkoBORN: 1907OCCUPATION: general in the RedArmyMARITAL STATUS: married; threesonsARR EST S: 1964 and 1968SENTENCE: placed in a psychiatrichospital, 1964-65; 1968-74CURRENT STATUS: fa 1978, whileon a six-month medical visa to theUnited States, Gen. Grigorenko wasstripped of his Soviet citizenship. Henow resides in the United States.NAME: Ivan KanaybaBORN: July 7, 1930OCCUPATION: attorneyMARITAL STATUS: unmarriedLATEST ARREST: March 24, 1981CHARG E: unknown -SENTENCE: 10 years in a special-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREVIOUS TERM: 1961-76RELEASE DATE: 1996CAMP ADDRESS:

618263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionp o s . Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-1

NAME: Lev LukianenkoBORN: August 24, 1927OCCUPATION: attorneyMARITAL STATU S: marriedLATEST ARREST: July 12, 1977CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda" , , SENT ENC E: 10 years in a special-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREVIOUS TERM: 1961-76RELEASE DATE: 1992CAMP ADDRESS:

61S263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionp o s . Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-1WIFE'S AD DRES S:Nadia Nykonivna 250019 m. Chernihivvul. Rokbsovskoho, 41-b, kv. 41

NAME: Oksana MeshkoBORN: January 30, 1905OCC UPATIO N: retiredMARITAL STATUS: widowLATEST ARREST: October 10, 1980CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"SENTENCE: six months in a strict-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREVIOUS TERMS: July-September1980 - psychiatric hospital; 1947-55RELEASE DATE: 1986EXILE ADDRESS:

68208Khabarovsky kraiAyano-Maisky raion. s. Ayanul. Vostretsova, 18SON'S A DDRESS:Oleksa'nder Serhiyenko 252086 Kiev-86vul. Verbolozha, 16NAME: Mykola MarusevychBORN: July 19, 1947OCCUPATION: historianMAR ITAL STATU S: marriedLATEST ARREST: April 23, 1977CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"SENTENCE: seven years in a strict-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePRE VIOU S TERM : 1972 - 15 daysRELEASE DATE: 1979PRISON ADDRESS:422950Tatarskaya ASSRg. Chistopoluchr. UE-148/SI-4

NAME: Myroslav MarynovychBORN : January 4, 1949OCCUPATION: electrical engineerMARITAL STATUS: married; onechild, age 14LATEST ARREST: April 23, 1977CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andprogaganda"SENTENCE: seven years in a strict-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREVIOUS TERMS: noneRELEASE DATE: 1989CAMP ADDRESS:618263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionp o s . Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36WIFE'S ADDRESS:Raisa SerhiynykKievska oblastVasylkivsky raions. Kalynivkavul. Lenina 84, kv. 46

NAME : Mykola RudenkoBORN: December 19, 1920OCCUPATION: poet and writerMARITAL STATUS: marriedLATEST ARREST: February 5, 1977CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"SENTENCE: seven years in a strict-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREV IOUS TERM : 1974 - detainedtwo daysRELEASE DATE: 1989CAMP ADDRESS:618263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionp o s . Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36WIFE'S ADDRESS: Raisa Rudenko iscurrently imprisoned, having beensentenced in 1981 to 10 years' loss of-freedom.

WIFE'S A DDRE SS: S e e entry o n OlhaHeyko.

NAME: Nina StrokataBORN: January 25, 1925OCCU PATION : rhicrobiologistMARITAL STATUS: married to Svia-toslav KaravanskyLATEST ARREST: December 8, 1971CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"SENTENCE: fours years at hard laborCURRENT STATUS: Nina Strokataand her husband emigrated to theUnited States on November 30, 1979.She is a mem ber of the External Representation of the Ukrainian HelsinkiGroup.NAME: Oleksiy TykhyBORN: January 31, 1927OCCUPATION: teacherMARITAL STATUS: married; twosonsLATEST ARREST: February 4, 1977CHA RGE: "anti-Soviet ag itation" and"illegal possession of a firearm"SENTENCE: 10 years in a special-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREVIOUS TERM: 1957-64RELEASE DATE: 1992CAMP ADDRESS:

618263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionp o s . Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-1WIFE'S A DDRE SS:Olha Oleksiyivna109457Mo skvaul. Okskaya, 46, kv. 60


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8 T H E U K R A I N I A N W E E K L Y S U N D A Y . N O V E M B E R 7 . 1 9 8 2 flo. 4 5

November 9, 1982: day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupUkrainian Helsinki Group members

N AM E: V yacheslav ChornovilBORN: December 24, 1937OCCU PATIO N: journalistM A R I T A L S T A T U S : m ar r i e d , o nes o n , age 18L A T E S T A R R E S T : A p r i l 8 , 1 9 8 0 ,while in exileCHARGE: attempted rapeS E N T E N C E : fi ve ye ar s in a s tr i ct -regimen labo r camp; tw o years a n d fourmonths'exilePR E V I OU S T E R M S : 1967- 69; 1972-80R E L E A S E D A T E : 19 87C A M P A D D R E S S :677908Yakutskaya ASSRg. Yakutsk, pos. Tabagauchr. YaD-40/7 "A"W I F E ' S A D D R E S S :Atena Pashko290014 Lviv-I4vul. Nishchynskoho, 14, kv. 6

NAME: Olha HeykoBORN: September 9, 1953OCCU PATIO N: philo logistMARITAL STATUS: married to imprisoned Hels inki mo nitor Myko laM atusevychL A T E S T A R R E S T : M arch 12 , 1980CHARGE: "anti-Soviet slander"SEN TE NCE : 4hree years in a laborcampP R E V I O U S T E R M S : n on eR E L E A S E D A T E : M ar c h 1983C A M P A D D R E S S :270059Odessa-59ust. YuH-311/74-3-6

NA M E: Mykola HorbalBORN: May 6 or September 10, 1941OCCU PATIO N: poet and composerM A R I T A L S T A T U S : m ar r i e d , o nes o n , age 4LATEST ARREST: October 23 , 1979CHARGE: attempted rapeSENTENCE: f ive years in a str ict-regimen labor campPR E V I OU S T E R M : 1970- 77R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 4C A M P A D D R E S S :329013M ykolayivska oblastKazankivsky raionst. Novodanylivkaust. YN-316/93-1W I F E ' S A D D R E S S :Anna M archenko252052 IKiev-52 'vul. Pavia Tychyny, 1, kv. 30

^ - 'V/WxsN AM E: Vitally K alynychenkoBORN: 1937OCCUPATION: engineerMARITAL STATUS: unmarriedL A T E S T A R R E S T : N o v e m b e r 2 9 ,1979CHARGE: probably "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda"SE N TE N CE: 10 years in a special-regimen labor camp; five years' exileP R E V I O U S T E R M S : 1 9 66-7 6; 1 9 7 8 -briefly detained for "hooliganism"R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 9 4C A M P A D D R E S S :618263Permskaya oblastChusovskoy raionp o s . Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-1N AM E: Zinoviy KrasivskyBORN: November 12, 1929OCCUPATION: poet and philologist

M AR ITAL ST AT US : married toOlenaA ntoniv, recently arrested in L vivL A T E S T A R R E S T : M arch 12, 1980

CHARGE: feigning mental illness toavoid completing previous 17-year termSE NT EN CE: eight months in a strict-regimen labor camp; five years' exilePR E V I OU S T E R M : 1945- 78R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 5E XI LE A D D R E S S :626236Tyumenskaya oblastK hanty-M ansiysky raionp o s . LuhovoyObshchezhytele

N AM E : Yaroslav LesivBORN: January 3, 1943OCCUPATION: physical educationinstructorMARITAL STATUS: married, twochildrenLATEST ARREST: May 1981 (whileimprisoned)C H A R G E : unkno w n; he had bee nserving a two-year term for narcoticspossession when arrestedSE N TE NC E: five years' imprisonmentPR E V I OU S T E R M S : 1967- 78; 1979-81R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 6C A M P A D D R E S S :Voroshylovhradska oblastm. Sykhodolskust. UL-314/36-2-29W I FE 'S A D D R E S S :N AM E: Yuriy LytvynB OR N : 1934OCCUPATION: poet and translatorM A R I T A L S T A T U S : c o m m o n l aw ,one childLA TES T AR RE ST : spring 1981 (whileimprisoned)CH A R GE : "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"S E N T E N C E : ive o r six) years in strict-regimen labor campPR E V I OU S T E R M S : 1951- 53 ; 1955-6 5 ; 1974-77; 1979-81R E L E A S E D A T E : 1986( 87?)W I FE 'S A D D R E S S :T. M atusevych252067, Kiev-67blvd. Ivana Lepse, 3, kv. 60

NA M E: V olodymyr M alynkovychB OR N : 1940OCCUPATION: physicianM A R I T A L S T A T U S : marriedL A T E S T A R R E S T : A ugus t 1979CHARGE: "hooliganism"S E N T E N C E : 15 daysP R E V I O U S T E R M S : n on eC U R R E N T S T A T U S : M r. M alynkovychemigrated to the W est in D ecember1979

NA M E: M ykhailo M elnykB OR N : 1944OCCU PATIO N: teacherM A R I T A L S T A T U S : m ar r i e d.childrenA R R E S T S : n o neC U R R E N T S T A T U S : On M ar c h 9 ,1 9 7 9 , M ykhailo M elnyk comm ittedsuicide as a result of continuous KGBpersecution.

(See also "In lieu of an obituary'page 10.)

Stefania Fedorivna285603 Ivano-Frankivska oblastDolynsky raions. Bolekhiv, vul. Shchorsa, 14


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Ho: 45 T H E U K R A IN IA N W E E KL Y S U N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 7 , 1 9 8 2 9

November 9 ,1 982: day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupN AM E: Vasyi O vsienkoBORN: Apri l 8 , 1949OC C U PA T I ON : phi l o l o gi s t and U -krainian language teacherM A R I T A L S T A T U S : unm arriedLATEST ARREST: late 1981 (whileimprisoned)C HA R G E : unkno w nS E N T E N C E : 10 years in a labor camp;five years' exilePR E V I OU S T E R M S : 1972-76; 1979-81R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 9 6P R I S O N A D D R E S S :618263Permskaya o blastChusovsicoy raionpos. Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-1

NA M E: Vasyl RomaniukBORN: December 9, 1925OCCUPATION: Ukrainian OrthodoxpriestM A R I T A L S T A T U S : m arr ied , o nechildL A T E S T A R R E S T : Jul y 1972CH AR GE : "anti-So viet agitation andpropaganda" -SENTENCE: two years in prison, fiveyears in a labor camp and three years'exileP R E V I O U S T E R M : 1 9 44 -5 4RE LE AS E DA TE : The Rev. Romaniukwas released from exile in 1982N AM E: Petro R ozumnyBORN: March 7, 1926OCCUPATION: English teacherM A R I T A L S T A T U S : unkno w n, t w osonsL A T E S T A R R E S T : Oc to ber 8 , 1979CHARGJE: "i l legal possess ion of aweapon"SENTENCE: three years in a laborcampP R E V I O U S T E R M S : n o n eR E L E A S E : M r . R o zum ny was releasedin 1982 and is now doing forced laborA D D R E S S :K habarovsky kraim. BikinNA M E: Iryna SenykBORN: June 8, 1926OC C U PA T I ON : po e tM A R I T A L S T A T U S : no t availabl eL A T E S T A R R E S T : Octo ber 17 , 1972CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"S E N T E N C E : s ix ye ars i n a s tr i ct -regimen camp; five years' exileP R E V I O U S T E R M : 9 4 6-5 6R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 3E X IL E A D D R E S S :

489100Kazakhskaya SSRTaldy-Kurhanskaya oblastK aratalskiy raionpos. Ushtobeul. Dzambula, 41N AM E: S tefania S habaturaBORN: November 5, 1938O CCU PA T IO N : artist, tapestry workerM A R I T A L S T A T U S : unm arriedLATEST ARREST: January 12, 1972CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda."S E N T E N C E : fi ve ye ar s in a st r ic t -regimen camp; three years' exileP R E V I O U S T E R M S : n on eR E L E A S E D A T E : I n 1980 , M s . S habatura was released and allowed toreturn to Ukraine.A D D R E S S :290017Ukrainska SSRLviy 17vul."kutuzova 116, kv. 2

N A M E: Petro SichkoBORN: August 18, 1926OCCUPATION: economistM AR ITA L ST AT US : married, threechildrenL A T E S T A R R E S T : M a y 2 6 , 1 9 8 2(while imprisoned)C H A R G E : " s l an d e r in g th e S o v i e tstate"SENTENCE: three years in a strict-regimen labor cam p.PR E V I OU S T E R M S : 1947- 57; 1979-8 2R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 5W I F E ' S A D D R E S S :Stefania SichkoIvano-Frankivska oblastm. Dolynavul. Panasa M yrnoho, 14

NA M E: Vasyl SichkoBOR N:" October 22 , 1956OCCUPATION: student at Kiev UniversityM A R I T A L S T A T U S : unm arriedL A T E S T A R R E S T : D e c e m b e r 1 1 ,1981 (while imprisoned)CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"SENTENCE: three years in a strict-regimen campPR E V I OU S T E R M : 1979- 81R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 5C A M P A D D R E S S : unavail ableM O T H E R ' S A D D R E S S : see Pe troSichko, wife's address

N AM E: Ivan SokulskyB OR N : 1940OCCUPATION: poet and journalistM A R I T A L S T A T U S : m arriedL A T E S T A R R E S T : A pril 11 , 1980CH AR GE : probably 4anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda"SE NT EN CE: five years in prison, fiveyears in a labor camp and five years'exilePR E V I OU S T E R M : 1969- 74R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 9 5P R I S O N A D D R E S S :. 422950Tatarskaya ASSRg. Chistopoluchr. UE-148/SI.-4

N AM E: V asyl S triltsivBORN: January 13, 1929OCCUPATION: teacher of EnglishM A R I T A L S T A T U S : un kn ow nL A T E S T A R R E S T : Oc t o be r 20 , 1981(while imprisoned)'CHARGE: unknownS E N T E N C E : s i x ye ar s i n a s t r i c t -regimen labor campPR E V I OU S T E R M S : 1944- 54; 1979-81 -R E L E A S E D A T E : 1 9 8 7C A M P A D D R E S S : u n k n o w nB R O T H E R 'S A D D R E S S :

Pavlo Striltsiv285600Ivano-Frankivska oblastDolynsky raions. Oboloniavul. Shevchenka, 49

NA M E: Vasyl StusBORN: January 8, 1938OC C U PA T I ON : po e tM A R I T A L S T A T U S : m ar r i e d , o nechild (Conrimud oa pep It)


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10 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY. NOVEMBER 7, 1982 No. 4 5j j u - . u : |SLi . : f-zz - -

November 9,1 98 2 : day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupUkrainian Helsinki Group members

(Cont inued from pmtO)LATEST ARREST: May 14, 1980CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda"S E N T E N C E : 10 y e a r s in a s t r i c t -regimen labor camp; five years' exilePREVIOUS TERM: 1972-79RELEASE DATE: 1995C A M P A D D R E S S .6 1 8 2 6 3Permskaya oblastChuspvskoy raionpos. Kuchinouchr. VS-389/36-IWIFE'S ADDRESS:Valentyna Popeliukh252179Kiev-79 vul. Chornobylslca, 13a, kv. 99N A M E : Nadia SvitlychnaBORN: 1936OCCUPATION: philologistMARITAL STATUS: marr ied, tw osonsLATEST ARREST: March 1973CHARGE: "anti-Soviet agitation andpropaganda."SENTENCE: four year s i n a l aborcampPREVIOUS TER MS: noneCURRENT STATUS: Nadia Svi t lychna and her two sons were allowed toemigrate from the USSR on October12, 1978. She now resides in the UnitedStates with her husband who arrived a year later.

NAME: Petro VlnsBORN: May 1, 1956OCCUPATION: studentMARITAL STATUS: unmarr iedLATEST ARREST: February 1978CHARGE: "parasi t i sm"SENTENCE: one year in a labor campPREVIOUS TERM S: noneCUR REN T STATUS: Petro Vins emigrated with his father, Pastor GeorgiVins, in 1979, and now reside s in theUnited States.

NAME: Yosyf ZiselsBORN: December 2, 1946OCCU PATION: engineerMARITAL STATUS: marr ied, oneso nLATEST ARREST: December 8, 1978CHARGE: probably "anti-Soviet agitat ion and propaganda"SENTENCE: three years in a strict-regimen labor campPREVIOUS TERM: 7-1977CURRENT STATUS: Mr. Zisels wasreleased, probably in April 1982

Helsinki monitors in camp groupA number of Soviet human rightsdefende rs of variou s nationalitieswho found themselves imprisonedfor their convictions and activitiesformed a Group to Promote Implementation of the HelsinkiAccords inPlaces of Deprivation of Freedom.Among the members of this prison-camp Helsinki group are severalUkrainian Helsinki monitors whoare not members of the UkrainianHelsinki Group based in Kiev.Following is information on theserights activists'current status. Detailson this Helsinki group will bepublished in the next issue of TheWeekly.

NAME: Oksana PopovychCUR REN T STATU S: She is in theseventh year of an eight-year prison/five-year exile term. '

For additional information, including addresses of relatives ofUkrainian rights activists, readersmay contact the External Representation of the Ukrainian HelsinkiGroup, P.O. Box 770, Cooper Station. New York, N.Y. 10003.

NAME: Bohdan RebrykCURRENT STATUS: Present ly insecond year of a 10-year exile term,after completing seven-year labor-camp sentence.

NAME: Sviatcslav KaravanskyCURRENT STATUS: Mr. Karavansky and his wife, Nina Strokata,were allowed to emigrate in 1979.NAME: Yuriy ShukhevychCURREN T STATUS: Infirstyearofa five-year exile term, after completing a 10-year labor-camp and prisonterm.

mNAME: Danylo ShumukCU RR EN T S TAT US: In first yearofa five-year exile term, after completing a 10-year labor-camp sentence.

In lieu of an obituaryThe statement below w as preparedby Oksana M eshko in lieu of an

.pbituary of Mykhailo Melnyk, whocommited suicide on March 9, 1979.In memory of Mykhailo Melnyk,our friend and comrade in the unimaginable Ukrainian misfor tune,who fell victim to the authorities.'

f tWe deliver this eulogy not at thegraves ide , because we, f r i ends ,colleagues and acquaintances, be

cause of the brutal measures of theKGB were prevented from bidding afinal farewell to the body of thedeceased. We were no t even allowedto throw a handful of frozen soilupon the premature coffin of thehunted and persecuted young historian, a former doctoral candidate,Mykhailo Melnyk.In a span of seven years, he experienced an excessive amount of"thoughtfulness" from the "righteouspeacemakers," his guardians who

kept a secret watch over him. Hementions this in .his poem: "I amyour child, Ukraine, give me yonrbre ad ! I am yo ur f l icker in thepresent, don4 extinguish me. I amyour sprout - y o u r fu tur e ."As if he felt the end coming, in adeaf and mute world he expressed histhought s i n t he fo l lowing poem:"You are alone, not all alone. I amgoing insane and I am dying, but Iwill not surrender my beliefs. Mybeliefs are such that even the gravewill not eradicate them. My feelingstoward my homeland and towardhumanity are sacred and passionate."

Protesting against the severe totalitarian regime he wrote: "Livingand being and process. A person isGod, not a small screw. And theprocess becomes an excess when theycome to kill a person."On the eve of International Woman's Day, after a devastating nightsearch of his home by KGB officers,Mykhailo Melnyk ended his life, bycommitting suicide at his home in thevillage of Pohreba in the Kiev oblast.He left his wife and two young preschool - age ch i ldr en , Oksana andDonna.

(Cont inued on page 11)


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N o . 45 J H E UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7 ,198 2 u-November 9 f 1982: day of tribute to the Ukrainian Helsinki GroupM em o on the perspectivesof the rights movement

The following document, whichspeaks of the general situation of therights movement and its perspectives,was released by the Ukrainian HelsinkiGroup in the spring of 1980 andpublished in its Information Bulletin in Marchof that year.

Yuriy Lytvyn's speech at his trial verystrongly speaks of the coercion to whichthe regime subjects the participants ofthe U krainian rights defense m ovement.As already know n, Yuriy TymonovychLytvyn was sentenced to three years'loss of freedom on fabricated charges(Article 188, No. 1 of the Criminal C odeof the Ukrainian SSR). Lytvyn is agravely i l l person; his very l i fe isthreatened.The same fate, based on var ioust rump ed-up ch arges , met manyother Ukrainian rights activists: VasylStriltsiv, Vasyl Sichko, Petro Sichko,Vasyl Ovsienko, Mykola Horbal, Yaro-slav Lesiv, Petro Rozumny, and beforeth i s , Pet ro Ruban, Serh iy Babych,Vasyl Bar ladianu and the recent lyarrested Vitaliy Kalynychenko, Volo-dymyr Kraynyk, phi lo logi s t HannaVasylivha Mykhailenko of Odessa, poetZinoviy Krasivsky (Morshyn, Ivano-Frankivske oblast ) and other r ightsdefende rs. A ll became victims of officialat tack. This t reatment awai ts manyother still-unknown rights activists whowill be arrested tomorrow. The waragainst the rights defense movement is a

war that the so-called people's government of the USS R has conducted for 60years against the people. The problemsraised by the rights movement becomeall the more pressing when their numbergrows each day.Members of the Moscow HelsinkiGroup and participants of the workers'movement for free trade unions led byKlebanov have become vict ims ofof fi c ia l a t t ac k . An dre i Sakh arov , aperson, an activist who embodies all thebest of this country, has become avictim of stepped-up repression. Theexile of Sakh arov, without any judicialproceeding, was achieved during theoccupat ion of Afghani s t an ; and i ttestifies to the fact that the regime hasshrugged off all remnants of restraint,being faced with insoluble problems ofthe time. We call to our nation and say:the o nly realistic way o ut of this dilemmain which we find ourselves is the pathpointed out by Sakh arov - the rightsmovement in the USSR.

As long as the party holds the monopoly on power, sealing itself off from thevoice of the people by means of prisonwalls and administrative prohibitions,none of the existing problems will besolved. The mission of the rights movement is to arouse public opinion, topromote the formation of a network ofcommunity organizations independentof t he government , and to l egal i zepublic opinion in the country. The so-cal led monol i thic Soviet society is

In lieu...(Continued rom 10)

A person was murdered. All of hisl i t e r ary works were conf i sca t ed ,classified as anti-Soviet, nationalistic meaning harmful.The work that sprang from hispen, this was his only release fromtension, his only enjoyment in hisrobbed l i fe. His expu lsion f romdoctoral research work two monthsbefore the end of his course as well ast h e u n o f f i c i a l a b r o g a t i o nof his r ight to pedagogical workforced him to w ork as a manu allaborer and night watchman.However, he did not become apathetic to his civic and social duties;his critical observations, his thoughtson these and other actual questionswere sent to various official Ukrainian publications. More specifically,he devoted his writings to these threetopics: the new Soviet Constitution;the auth orities' order prohibiting theobservance of May 22, the day TarasShevchenko's body was transportedfrom St. Pete rsburg to Kiev as well asthe persecution and prosecution ofpersons who placed flowers on monum ents in such cities as Kiev, Kanivand Odessa; his protests against thearrests of Helsinki monitors (Lev

Lukianenko), Vasyl Ovsienko andhis protests in many other matters.Mykhailo Melnyk was a constantcorrespondent and true sympathizerof the Ukrainian Helsinki Group andthe movem ent for democratic changein the USSR, and he gave his timeand effor t to these causes. Thisinvolvement caused the unbearablepressure of the KGB.Mykhailo, friend! You struggled

long, searching untiringly for theTruth and for a sympathetic shoulderin this uneven struggle.Thoroughly tired in your fruitlesssearches for Good and Fairness inthis s evere So viet reality, you answeredin a mute protest that will resound,putting blame and shame on theregime; and this p rotest will be heardacross the wo rld amo ng decent peopleand fighters for human rights.But will there be a response fromthe conscience of our oppressors w hodisregard human rights, who do notallow a person to be himself, to reapthe fruits of his labor, to create andmultiply cultural and materialachievements of his native land, tobreath e freely, to live as indiscerniblefamilies.Your protest against the violationsof human rights your suicide isan act that screams out against theunlawfulness, the totalitarian manifestat ions. I t i s an act equal toburning oneself alive in defense ofone's fellow cou ntryme n wh o are stillalive today and who continue theirstruggle those wh o are persecutedfor their beliefs or their good deeds;whose living and feeling hea rt, whosecourage refuses to yield to the evilthat haunts thei r long-suffer inghomeland.We are choked by tears and unspeakable pity for you... We bow ourheads low in memory of you, aperson...And we speak for you when weanswer the question, "What do youdesire from peo ple?" - Love.May the earth be like a feather,friend, Mykhailo! Oksana MeshkoM ar c h 12 ,1979

identical to the absence of society,because this society does not express itsexistence in any way, being completelydisintegrated in the government's Procruste s' bed of allowab le existence. Thissociety does not have a free press, itsown association, its own voice, its ownbody. This is the basis of the horror ofour totalitarian existence, under whichthe entire ' nation becomes a subject ofparty manipulation, an obedient toy inthe hands of the all-powerful authorities.

The standard of living of a worker inthis, the f i rst country of so-cal ledpracticable socialism, is perhaps thelowest in Europe. The Ukrainian workerworks not 41 hour s per week, butconsiderably more. Nearly every otherSaturday is declared a work da y, therefore the work week is actually 44 to 45hours long. This is significantly morethan in developed Western countries,where the work week is somet imes1 under 40 hours. And for such work in theSoviet Union the worker receives apauper's salary which barely suffices tomake ends meet. The Ukrainian working woman, the vict im of her ownequality, is forced to work on the samelevel as her husb and . But even this doesnot save the family from chronic economic hardship. This also leads to theneglect of matern al duties - the educa tion and care of children. A good 70 to80 percent of their combined salariesgoes toward food. Our worker knowshow the labor laws are constant lyviolated just to fulfill the productionplan.It is not no ticeable, but it is perceptiblein the family budget that prices arerising progressively, money is devalued,basic consumer goods are lacking. All

this is known to anyone who does notuse the government stores that are closedto the public and who has no secretadvantage that comes with a wel l -ensured managerial position.Villagers are still forced to flee to thecity in ord er to have more or less hum ancondi t ions of existence (at least anormal working day). Their lack ofdesire to work close to the holy earthhas forced the government to rely onregular purchases of grain from capitalist states; the collective farm systemthat has been ineffective in all the yearsof its existence is not capable of recovering from its inheren t ills no matter whatfinancial injections are administered.The people, having lost faith in thecollective farms, flee to the cities (theyounger generation leaves all the burdenon the parents). Agriculture is movingfrom being a big failure to an evengreater one.The situation of the ordinary intelligentsia differs little from that of theWorkers and villagers. Its worries arebasically how to somehow make theirlifestyle possible. It has no other goal.Having been transformed into functionaries of the government system, theUkrainian intelligentsia lost the right tocall itself the intelligentsia and is notable to fulfill any spiritual mission. It iseither recruited into the ruling caste ofparty-government functionaries or it

lowers itself to the lumpen dregs intoperpetual financial hardship, into thetroubles of day4o-day existence. Allthese are questions which the rightsmovement can in no way sidestep. Theentire complex of questions related tothe social-economic and political rightsof people should be within our purview.Neither can we approve of the great(Russian) chauvinism (sownfrom above)that has gained sway in Ukraine. Theproblems brought up by Ukra in i an

rights activists of the 1960s have become considerably more pressing.The process of negating nations hasgone to o far and it is being decided firstof al l on the ter r i tory of Ukraine.Ukrainian rights activists were and arein the most difficult of situations. Hereno one is passed over neither thesmall, the old, the notable, nor theneophyte.The fate of all other nations of theSovie t Union depends on whetherRussian chauvinism wins its war' withthe Ukrainian national organism (thatafter several centuries of existence inan im

The Ukrainian Weekly 1982-45

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Transcript of The Ukrainian Weekly 1982-45