July 23, 2012
MEDIA RELEASE
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS CALLS FOR MEETING
WITH PRESIDENT VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
On July 23, 2012, in a letter to President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij called for a working meeting between Ukraine’s President and the UWC leadership in order to discuss issues of concern to the Ukrainian diaspora, namely:
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Democratization of Ukraine: persistent appeals by the international community, including the Ukrainian World Congress, calling for Ukraine’s governing authorities to revert to democratic governance and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to abide by the decisions of the European Court in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights ratified by Ukraine in 1997;
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Parliamentary elections in Ukraine: the participation of imprisoned opposition leaders in the October 2012 Parliamentary elections, the elimination of all forms of pressure on independent mass media, and the monitoring by international observers of the electoral process, including the missions being organized by the Ukrainian World Congress, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and Ukrainian Canadian Congress;
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Ukraine’s Euro-integration: the importance of Euro-integration for the strengthening of Ukraine’s statehood and the country’s future development, and for its protection against Russia’s imperial plans for creating a Russia-dominated Eurasian union of the former Soviet republics, and the need for Ukrainian governing authorities to adhere to European values in order for the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement to be signed and ratified;
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Threat of Ukraine’s de-Ukrainization: theserious harm of furthering in Ukraine the “russkiy mir” ideology, by such means as the so-called adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of the Draft Law on the Principles of State Language Policythat contravenesArt. 10 of the Constitution of Ukraine providing that Ukrainian is the sole state language of Ukraine;
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80th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932-33: the international commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932-33 and the erection of a monument in Washington, U.S.A., honouring victims of the Holodomor;
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65th anniversary of Akcija Visla: financial support from Ukraine for the restoration of the Narodnyi Dim in Przemyzl, Poland;
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Financial investments in Ukraine by the Ukrainian diaspora: the Ukrainian diaspora as an important source of financial investment into the Ukrainian economy;
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Ukrainian state programs for the Ukrainian diaspora: the importance of publicizing details on the disbursements from the State Program for Cooperation with Diaspora Ukrainians for the period up to 2010 and the financial status of the State Program for Cooperation with Diaspora Ukrainians for the period up to 2015.
The UWC is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 32 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 15 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.
