UWC President met with high-ranking state officials and civil society of the Czech Republic and participated in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the UWC

On 9-11 July 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij met with high-ranking state officials and representatives of civil society, and participated in a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the UWC.

On 9 July 2017, the UWC President participated in Divine Liturgy at St. Clement Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral and learned about Ukrainian religious life in Prague during a meeting with Fr. Vasyl Slyvotskyi.

On this day, Eugene Czolij participated in a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the UWC organized by UWC member organization – Ukrainian Initiative in the Czech Republic led by Viktor Rajcinec. In his address, the UWC President highlighted the accomplishments of the UWC and future priorities. The commemorative program included the screening of a short documentary film “50 years of the Ukrainian World Congress.”

On 9 July 2017, the UWC President visited a summer recreational camp organized by the Ukrainian community in the Czech Republic for orphans whose parents were defending Eastern Ukrainian territories and extended greetings on behalf of the UWC.

On 10-11 July 2017 Eugene Czolij had a series of meetings with high-ranking officials and representatives of civil society to whom he expressed gratitude for the assistance of the Czech Republic for Ukraine in the fight against Russian Federation aggression and in furthering Euro and Euro-Atlantic integration processes, and urged continued support for Ukraine which today is significantly reforming and modernizing. The UWC President also thanked the governing authorities of the Czech Republic for bringing to trial the so-called honorary consulate of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the activities of which the regional court in Ostrava ruled illegal on the grounds that it violated international law. Taking into account that the Czech Republic currently heads the Council of Europe, the UWC President encouraged support for the release by the Russian Federation of Ukrainian political prisoners and the deployment of a Council of Europe observer mission (or a joint mission with the OSCE) to Crimea. In addition, the UWC President called upon the Czech Republic to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-33 an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. He also raised the issue of the replacement of the Museum of the Liberation Movement of Ukraine, which was destroyed during the Second World War, and access to a government program on the maintenance of graves.

During the meetings, the UWC President was accompanied by the Ambassador of Ukraine in the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebyinis, member of Ukrainian Initiative in the Czech Republic Bohdan Rajcinec and Director of the UWC Mission to International Organizations in Brussels Maryna Iaroshevych.

“The Ukrainian World Congress expresses gratitude to Ukrainian Initiative in the Czech Republic for its cooperation in supporting Ukraine and for the commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the UWC,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.

Video about the meeting with the Ukrainian community can be seen HERE.

 

List of individuals with whom the UWC President met:

Chvojka Jan, Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation, Chairman of the Government Legislative Council

Hinková Jana, Deputy Director of the Department of Northern and Eastern Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Jindrak Rudolf, Director of the Foreign Affairs Department, Czech Presidential Office

Landovsky Jakub, Deputy Minister, Head of the Defence Policy and Strategy Division, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic

Maca Roman, Analyst, European Values Think-Tank

Papoušek Zdeněk, Senator, Chairman of the Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions

Perebyinis Yevhen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in the Czech Republic

Schwarzenberg Karel, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic

Fr. Slyvotskyi Vasyl, Parish Priest, St. Clement Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cathedral

 

In the photo from left: Y. Perebyinis, J. Chvojka and E. Czolij

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