On 19 February 2009, Dave Levac, Liberal MPP for Brant, Frank Klees, PC MPP for Newmarket-Aurora, and Cheri DiNovo, NDP MPP for Parkdale-High Park introduced a joint Tri-partisan Private Members Bill, the Holodomor Memorial Day Act ( Bill 147), in the Ontario Legislative Assembly. On 5 March 2009, Bill 147 passed second reading.

We ask all Ukrainians in Ontario to write to Premier Dalton McGuinty and urge him to support the passage of Bill 147. Please click on http://www.lucorg.com/luc/news.php?id=3545&newlang=eng&type=msg to read the sample letter to the Premier and the key points we encourage you to include.

We are almost at the finish line, and it is of utmost importance for all of us, all Ukrainians in Ontario, to finally achieve victory as a united community!

League of Ukrainian Canadians,

-National Executive

Thursday, March 12, 1-2 pm
Anna Wylegala (Jacyk Visiting Scholar, Graduate School for Social Research, Warsaw, Poland), “Displaced people, displaced memory? Local historical identity in Ukrainian Galicia and Polish ‘Regained Lands’”
Registration: http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=6211
Room 108, North Building, Munk Centre for International Studies (1 Devonshire Place)
Sponsored by the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine.

Thursday, March 12, 6 – 8 pm
Marko Bojcun (London Metropolitan University, Department of Law, Governance and International Relations), “Can Ukraine and Russia belong to the same European security order?”
Registration: http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=6848
Room 108, North Building, Munk Centre for International Studies (1 Devonshire Place)
Sponsored by the Wolodymyr Dylynsky Memorial Fund at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, in co-operation with the CIUS Toronto Office the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine, University of Toronto, and the Institute for European Studies. Funding for this event was provided by the European Commission.

The European Union under the French Presidency has accepted Russia’s proposal for a conference next year, to which the USA will also be invited, to discuss a new European security order. The proposal and its acceptance comes in the wake of the Russian intervention into Georgia, strenuous Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian protests at Russia’s actions, and renunciation of membership prospects for Ukraine in NATO and the EU in the foreseeable future. Some observers see in these developments the opportunity for Russia to persuade key European NATO members to consider seriously a new all inclusive European security order that would in some vital ways pose an alternative to the current NATO-Russia standoff. What are the prospects for this proposal, and what are the possible implications for Ukrainian security strategy?

Thursday, April 2, 12-2 pm
Olga Onuch (PhD candidate, Oxford University), “Revolutionary Moments and Revolutionary Movements: Comparing the Role of The Two ‘Poras’ in The Ukrainian “Orange Revolution”(2004)”
Registration: http://www.utoronto.ca/ceres/
Room 108, North Building, Munk Centre for International Studies (1 Devonshire Place)
Sponsored by the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine

Olga Onuch is a DPhil Candidate in Politics at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. Ms. Onuch’s current research focuses on a comparison of the role of social mobilisation in Eastern Europe and Latin America specifically focusing on two paired comparisons. The first of crisis related mobilisation in Ukraine (2004) and Argentina (2001) and the second of labour based mobilisation in Poland and Brazil.

The paper to be presented focuses solely on the case of crisis related mobilisation in Ukraine in 2004 and traces the political roles of social movements leading up to and during the ‘Orange Revolution’. The paper challenges current theoretical and empirical misconceptions regarding the ‘Orange Revolution’ by explicating the differing yet complimentary roles of the two PORA movements (Black and Yellow). The paper demonstrates that the two PORAs although influential where part of a broader network of social movements which was built over two decades and fused together during a critical moment of mass mobilisation now referred to as the “Orange Revolution”.

The empirical findings are arrived at through process tracing, network and event history analysis methodologies based on two years worth of interviews, focus groups and archival and statistical research conducted in Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa, Ukraine.

Friday, April 3, 5-7 pm
Screening of “A Kingdom Reborn: Treasures from Ukrainian Galicia”, Canada (2007), 57 min (English)
Registration: http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=7234
Room 108, North Building, Munk Centre for International Studies (1 Devonshire Place)
Sponsored by the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine.

Written by Peter Bejger, directed and produced by Dani Stodilka
Presented by Prof. Frank Sysyn (Canadian Institute for Ukrainian Studies)
For full synopsis and reviews: www.akingdomreborn.com

The documentary film brings to life one of the legendary cities and regions of Central Europe. Lviv is the capital city of the medieval principality Galicia, whose architecture and treasures offer an exquisite blending of the Byzantine and Latin aesthetic. Long subject to historic narratives imposed by foreign rulers, the Ukrainians of Galicia — museum curators, historians and icon painters — now tell their own history of Galicia through their artistic heritage.

The film will be followed by Q&A session moderated by Prof. Frank Sysyn

Monday, April 27, 1-5 pm
Roundtable “Perspectives on Media and Communications in Ukraine”. More information to follow.
Registration: http://webapp.mcis.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=6749
Room 108, North Building, Munk Centre for International Studies (1 Devonshire Place)
Sponsored by the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine.

Delegates attending 51st SUSK Congress

The Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union held its 51^st annual Congress at the St. Vladimir Institute in Toronto from February 20^th to the 22^nd, 2009. Over 65 delegates arrived from post-secondary institutions all across Canada, including representatives from three newly-established Ukrainian student organizations. Participation nearly doubled for this, the second Congress since the revival of SUSK in Winnipeg in October of 2007.

The Congress kicked off Friday with an evening at Tryst, a downtown nightclub owned by two Ukrainian brothers. The formal program began on Saturday, with presentations on anti-human trafficking by Anna Shabotynsky, Operation Wisła by Miroslaw Iwanek, third and fourth immigrant wave relations by Anastasia Baczynskyj, and the League of Ukrainian Canadians by Volodymyr Paslavskyi (Executive Director of LUC) and Taras Paslavskyi (of the Ukrainica Research Institute). Students also had a chance to share their own experiences through student-led workshops. Each Ukrainian student organization had the opportunity to present a successful event they had organized followed by group discussions on the hardships experienced and how they were overcome.

Saturday’s dinner at Golden Lion Restaurant consisted of a mix of delegates, past SUSK presidents, and government and community leaders such as Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Liberal MP for Etobicoke Centre), Paul Grod (UCC President), Dr. Oleh Romanyshyn (keynote speaker, LUC President), Mykhailo Wawryshyn (UCPBF President), and others. The evening continued with a high-energy zabava during which DJ Paradise and bands Mosaic and the Kavalery played to a capacity crowd.

George Wodoslawsky, Ukrainian Credit Union vice-chair, gave one final presentation on Sunday concerning successful sponsorship applications. The Congress concluded with the passing of resolutions and the election of a new executive.

Over the past year SUSK has worked hard to coordinate ideas, efforts, and resources of its member organizations. This year SUSK has contributed to the reformation of several dormant clubs and the creation of new clubs. Newly-elected president Marco Jacuta has stated that he intends to focus on establishing the foundations for SUSK’s long term continuity, as well as building on the past successes of SUSK and developing new ones for the coming year.

The Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union National Executive 2009-10 is:

President: Marco Jacuta (University of Alberta)
VP Finance: Volodymyr Viguiliouk (York University)
VP West: Roman Storoshchuk (University of Calgary)
VP Great Lakes: Andrij Wodoslawsky (University of Toronto)
VP St. Lawrence: Vivian Zabuga (Concordia University)
Secretary: Christine Turenko (University of Toronto)
External Relations Director: Danylo Korbabicz (Carleton University)
Internal Relations Director: Christina Andrusiv (McMaster University)
Media Director: Kolia Kalimin (Ontario College of Art and Design)
Alumni Director: Motria Spolsky (York University)

Executive Assistant: Natalia Markewycz (York University)
Past President: Tamara Mischena (University of Guelph)

SUSK would like to thank Andrew Wodoslawsky, Congress Director, whose guidance made the weekend possible. A special thank you goes out to the League of Ukrainian Canadians and the Ukrainica Research Institute who gave each SUSK agent organization a copy of the display “Holodomor: Genocide by Famine” to display in their respective universities and donate to the university libraries.

SUSK acknowledges and extends out sincere appreciation to the following organizations, corporations and individuals for their support of the SUSK 51^st National Congress, without whom it would not have been such a success:

Gold – $2000 +

Reininghaus, Rolf and Darka

Shevchenko Foundation

St. Vladimir Institute

Bronze – $250 +

Buduchnist Credit Union

Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce

Prosvita – Lachine, Quebec

Rosewood Estates Winery and Meadery

Shlapak, Fred and Irene

Ukrainian Canadian Congress Toronto

Ukrainian Credit Union Limited

Ukrainian National Federation, Montreal

Supporters

Anonymous

Bajus, Anna and Miroslaw

Balij, Adrian

Bread and Roses

Caisse Populaire Desjardins de Montreal

Cholkan & Stepczuk Chartered Accountants

Concordia Ukrainian Students’ Union

Future Bakery

Longo Brothers Fruit Markets

Luciuk, Dr. Lubomyr

Lupul, Dr. Manoly and Mrs. Natalie

Lvivske Premium Beer and Slava Ultra Premium Vodka

McGill Ukrainian Students’ Association

Sanajko, Monica

So-Use Credit Union

St. Basil the Great Parish

University of Toronto Bookstore

Vynnyk, Mykhaylo and Halyna

Women’s Club of St. Basil the Great Parish

Tryst
No cover before 11:00 – SUSK guestlist
19+
Strict dress code in effect
82 Peter Street, Toronto
www.trysttoronto.com

A SPECIAL REGISTRATION package is available for those for those at the LIVING ARTS CENTER on February 21st. $45 covers the pre-pub, and day program (including meals), and the Saturday zabava (but not dinner). All one has to do is register online, and put the word “DANCER” in the “Comments” field.

All students are welcomed to register at www.susk.ca/congress/registration .

Let’s not let anyone miss this great opportunity!

Details:

Saturday February 21st, 2009
King’s Garden Banquet Hall, 15 Canmotor Avenue, Toronto, ON
Doors open 6:00
Dinner 6:40
Zabava from 9:30 Featuring Kavalery and Mosaic
Shirt and tie required.

Student tickets for dinner/zabava: $50
Adult tickets for dinner: $65
ZABAVA TICKETS ONLY: $10

Zabava tickets available at the door.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080531.COUKRAINE31/TPStory/?query=solzhenitsyn

For convenience’s sake I am reproducing it below:

HISTORIC RECORD
The Ukrainian famine was not a genocide

ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN

Nobel-prize winning Russian novelist, dramatist and historian

May 31, 2008

From as far back as 1917, we Soviet citizens had to hear and obediently swallow all sorts of shameless, not to say meaningless, lies. That the All-Russian Constituent Assembly was not an attempt at democracy but a counter-revolutionary scheme (and was therefore disbanded). Or that the October coup d’etat (this was Trotsky’s brilliant manoeuvre) was not even an uprising, but self-defence from the aggressive Provisional Government (composed of the most intelligent cadets).

But people in Western countries never became aware of these monstrous distortions of historical events – neither at the time nor later. So they had no chance to immunize themselves to the sheer impudence and scale of these lies.

The great famine of 1921 shook our country, from the Urals, across the Volga, and deep into European Russia. It cut down millions of our people. But the word Holodomor [meaning murder by hunger] was not used at that time. The Communist leadership deemed it sufficient to blame the famine on a natural drought, while failing to mention at all the grain requisitioning that cruelly robbed the peasantry.

And in 1932-33, when a similar great famine hit Ukraine and the Kuban region, the Communist Party bosses (including quite a few Ukrainians) treated it with the same silence and concealment. And it did not occur to anyone to suggest to the zealous activists of the Communist Party and Young Communist League that what was happening was the planned annihilation of precisely the Ukrainians. The provocative outcry about “genocide” only began to take shape decades later – at first quietly, inside spiteful, anti-Russian, chauvinistic minds – and now it has spun off into the government circles of modern-day Ukraine, who have thus outdone even the wild inventions of Bolshevik agitprop.

To the parliaments of the world: This vicious defamation is easy to insinuate into Western minds. They have never understood our history: You can sell them any old fairy tale, even one as mindless as this.

******

I. A bit of history:

The article was not written specifically for the Globe and Mail, nor is it of a recent date. One may thus wonder what was so valuable or news worthy that a paper that prides itself on being “Canada’s National Newspaper” would see it worthy to reproduce it now, more than eight weeks after it appeared in Russian and was immediately translated into English.

Solzhenityzn’s short piece appeared for the first time on 2 April 2008, in the Russian newspaper Izvestia, under the title “Possorit’ rodnye narody??” (To start a quarrel among brotherly peoples?). The title is hard to translate and was abandoned in the English versions, although it reflected much better Solzhenitsyn’s preoccupation than the one in the G & M rendition. Solzhenitsyn has always looked at Ukraine from the perspective of a 19th century Russian nationalist who considered the three Eastern peoples as branches of one Russian nation (consisting of Great Russians, Little Russians and White Russians). The democratic dissident turned Russian chauvinist cannot forgive Yushchenko and his like of drawing the two “brotherly peoples” further apart by proffering to the world a Ukrainian-only genocide. (There are other passages where the text loses its meaning in the mistranslation – I shall return to it below.)

The timing of Solzhenitsyn’s diatribe was not fortuitous. That same day (2 April) the Russian Parliament was getting ready to discuss Ukraine’s claim of Holodomor-Genocide, and the coincidence was not lost on the Russian commentators. Luke Harding, writing in the Guardian a day later, believed it was an attack on Bush who two days earlier (1 April), together with Yushchenko, laid a wreath at a monument to the victims of the famine in Kyiv. Harding also commented on the writer’s evolution: “His later statements have demonstrated an increasingly nationalist anti-western tone, and he appears to be a fan of President Vladimir Putin, who gave him a literary award last summer.”

In the next few days, the declaration was picked up by all major news outlets; newspapers around the world commented on the Nobel Prize winner’s text, quoted passages, or gave whole translations. The Guardian gave its translation (3 April) a descriptive title: “Ukrainian politicians are misusing the term ‘genocide’ because they can rely on the west not to know any better”. The merit of this title was to sense the anti-western drift of article’s scent.

On 5 April, the Boston Globe published Solzhenitsyn’s piece under the title “Ukrainian famine not a genocide”. The translation was very “liberal”, some parts were left out and others added (compared to the Izvestia version on the internet). Actually the last two paragraphs in the three newspapers (Guardian, Boston Globe, G&M) differ quite a bit, showing the almost incomprehensible style of Solzhenitsyn’s prose and the particular spin each translator/paper wished to give.

II. Content analysis:

Let us examine the five paragraphs making up the piece in the G&M.

The first paragraph lists some of the the lies that Soviet citizens had to swallow about the origins of the Communist regime.

The second paragraph states that people in the West did not become aware of these lies and did not become immunized against them.

The third paragraph talks about the famine of 1921. This paragraph is tendentious:
a)the author mentions only 1921, whereas the famine continued into 1923;
b) he mentions only European Russia, across the Volga and up to the Urals, neglecting to mention that it also ravaged southern Ukraine;
c) he is right to criticize the Communist for only blaming natural drought (which actually took place & was greatly responsible for the famine), and neglecting to admit to the forced requisition that was the other reason for the famine; however, but fails to mention about famine relief aid that was asked for and received from the west;
d) leaving Ukraine out of the picture, Solzhenitsyn fails to mention that Ukraine had enough food to feed its population but was forced to send it to Russia (Petrograd, Moscow & the Volga), even from the drought stricken regions of the south and for this reason there was a famine in Ukraine as well;
e) the term Holodomor not used at that time, although the expression “moryty holodom” probably was; it has to be investigated. But most Ukrainian farmers were conscious of the fact that the famine was man-made and documents reflect this realization.
Such omissions for an author that is presented as a historian is not excusable.

The fourth paragraph is the only one that actually deals with the famine of 1932-33. The author once more gives a most biased presentation:
a) he mentions that there were Ukrainians among the communist bosses, but fails to mention that Kuban’ (part of RSFSR), which he cites was two-thirds Ukrainian;
b) he claims that the Communist bosses treated this famine with the “same silence and concealment”; double error: in 1921 the bosses knew of the famine and asked for aid (first for Russia & eventually for Ukraine); in 1933 the bosses from Ukraine (Petrovsky, Chubar & others) informed Stalin, Molotov & Kaganovich and begged for aid but were refused; Published collections of documents (Stalin-Kaganovich correspondence; Sovetskaia derevnia glazami OGPU; Tragedia sovetskoi derevi) just to mention the ones published in Moscow & therefore easily available for Solzhenitsyn give a very precise picture of the difference of the famine in Ukraine and in Russia.
Only half of this paragraph deals with the famine; the second part is a diatribe against the “spiteful, anti-Russian, chauvinistic minds” in the Ukrainian government circles. Letting one’s imagination run wild may be good for literary inspiration but not when it leads to spewing hatred as in the closing words of that paragraph: “the government circles of modern-day Ukraine, who have thus outdone even the wild inventions of Bolshevik agitprop”.

The fifth paragraph begins with seeming appeal to the World: “To the parliaments of the world:”. But if it were aimed at foreign parliaments, then the author would not address them in the third person: “They have never understood our history: You can sell them any old fairy tale”. The original Russian text has only four paragraphs and in fact last two form a single whole. The sentence “To the parliaments of the world” are in quotation marks. What the author is saying is that the Ukrainian government circles are taking their “fairy tales” to the parliaments of the world.

When we analyze Solzhenitsyn’s op-ed, what do we find?
First, there is no analysis, historical or otherwise, of the Holodomor controversy, the author gives no arguments why the Ukrainian famine should not be considered a genocide.
Second, the text is no great piece of literature, and the fact that the translators had trouble understanding it was not due to the complexity of ideas but to poor style.
Third, artistic license stops where social science begins; the question of famine and genocide is demand serious discussion not bouts of delirium.
Fourth, the piece is extremely insulting, first to the Ukrainian community, and then to the general western public.

III. Why did the Globe and Mail publish this piece?

Taking into account our discussion of the history and the content of Solzhenitsyn’s commentary, one can only ask, why was this piece published by the Globe and why was it done now?

The article is bad as history, it is poor as literature, it is insulting to Ukraine, Ukrainians and the western world in general; so why publish it?

On the other hand, it is an attempt to discredit the notion that the Ukrainian Holodomor was a Genocide. Was this the motive behind this publication?

The timing would suggest that it was. This is a warmed-over piece of Ukrainophobia, published eight weeks after its first appearance in other papers. Why now? Well, it comes several days after the Holodomor bill was unanimously passed by the two houses of our Parliament. It appeared several days after the triumphant visit to Canada of Ukraine’s President. And thirdly, it appeared two days before the hearing on the Genocide program in the Toronto school board, at which a Ukrainian delegation will argue to have the Holodomor included in the curriculum. The message is clear: the West was dupe to Communist lies, and just now it got duped again by Yushchenko into passing the Holodomor Bill. Toronto school board should not let itself get hoodwinked into accepting Holodomor into the school curriculum. As Luke Harding of the Guardian had placed the first printing of Solzhenitsyn’s article in its historical context, so should we see realize that the present publication by the G&M was not a chance occurrence. Someone was interested in having this article appear for specific reasons.

IV. What is to be done?

Considering that the publication was an affront to the Ukrainian, the Ukrainian community should demand a retraction and an apology from the Globe. The Globe should also carry a serious op-ed article on the Holodomor.

The community should start a phone & letter campaign to the Globe.

A cancellation campaign should be organized: give the Globe a week or two to apologize and publish an op-ed, and if not done, cancel subscriptions.

If the above does not work, stage a demonstration before the G&M building, but prepare good material for hand-outs to the media and the public.

On May 28, 2008 both the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada passed Bill C-459 An Act to establish a Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (“Holodomor”) Memorial Day and to recognize the Ukrainian Famine in 1932-33 as an act of genocide.The Bill received Royal Assent on May 29, 2008.

This Bill was the initiative of Manitoba Member of Parliament James Bezan (Selkirk-Interlake). With the support of all parties, he successfully moved that his Private Members Bill C-459 be passed at all stages.

In a show of solidarity, Ontario MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) supported the move and ensured that the Bill would be passed at all stages.   Senator Raynell Andreychuk subsequently sponsored the Bill in the Senate.

Ukrainian Canadian Congress National President Paul Grod stated, “I would like to congratulate Mr. Bezan for his efforts in bringing this Bill about. The truth about the Holodomor as genocide has been suppressed for too long and I am proud that Canada is taking the lead in rectifying this. I would also like to thank Borys Wrzesnewskyj for being a stalwart supporter of the importance of having Canada’s Parliament acknowledge the genocide which took place in Ukraine in 1932-33. The Ukrainian Canadian community also extends its thanks to Prime Minister Stephen Harper for supporting the Bill along with the other party leaders, Hon. Stephan Dion, Hon. Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe for ensuring that this Bill passed while the President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko, was in Canada. Secretary of State Jason Kenney also played a leading role in our efforts.”

Mr. Grod continued, “The next step is for Canada to support the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to have the General Assembly of the United Nations pass a resolution condemning the Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian people.”

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which is the national coordinating body for Canada’s 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent, has worked tirelessly to educate Canadians about the true nature of the Holodomor in Ukraine, when in the years 1932-33 millions of Ukrainians perished through a famine deliberately set in motion by the actions of the Soviet regime.

Part 1

Part 2

“I believe this approach will allow all communities affected by internment during the First World War to undertake meaningful commemorative and educational activities to ensure that the internment experience is shared and understood by Canadians, and that a sense of closure can be achieved,” said Secretary of State Kenney. “The Government believes that it is important for all Canadians to understand our history, including the more difficult periods.”

This funding is being provided under the Community Historical Recognition Program, which was first announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in June 2006. The Program will fund community-based projects that will allow communities affected by Canadian wartime measures and immigration restrictions to have their experiences acknowledged in a way that is meaningful to them. Eligible projects could include monuments, commemorative plaques, educational material, and exhibits.

“The Ukrainian Canadian community is grateful to all those Parliamentarians who supported the establishment of a meaningful endowment as symbolic restitution for the economic losses of the internees,” said Paul Grod, President Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

About the internment operations

More than 80,000 Ukrainians were branded “enemy aliens” during Canada’s first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.  In addition, almost 5,000 Ukrainians, including men, women and children, were interned as forced labourers in 24 Canadian concentration camps during and after the First World War. More than 8,000 people were interned in total. People were interned not because of anything they had done, but only because of where they had come from, who they were.  There was no evidence then, nor has any been found since, of divided loyalties on the part of the victims of these internment measures.  The present day value of the economic losses suffered by the internees is approximately $50 million.