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Human Rights in Ukraine by M yron B. K uropas Excerpts from a paper read at the U N W L A National Convention at Chicago, III., July 5, 1968 T here is an irony of so rts in th e fa c t th a t today, in observing th e 20th ann iv ersary of th e U ni versal D eclaration of H um an R ights, our atten tio n should once again focus on U kraine. It is ironic because fo r th e p a st 50 years, despite th e u n tirin g ef fo rts of countless U krainians in th e free world who have borne w itness to th e obliteration of hum an rig h ts in U kraine, th e w estern world has rem ained largely in d ifferen t and occasion ally even hostile to th e p lig ht of 45 m illion U krainians living in th e Soviet Union. In term s of prio rities, it would seem th a t to th e w estern m ind th e g ra n t ing of independence to an under developed piece of A frican ju n gle or a rem ote coral island is of infinitely g re a te r significance th a n th e subju gatio n of E a s t E uropean n ations th a t w ere po litically visible a thousand years ago. F o rtu n ately , th e ap ath etic a t titu d e of th e w estern world has not dism ayed th e U krainians liv ing under Soviet rule. Today th e re is irrefu tab le evidence th a t th e m odern U krainian political renaisance w hich had its gene sis in th e era of Shevchenko and F ranko, lives on in th e w ords and deeds of Sym onenko, D ziu ba, S vitlychny and Chornovil. T here has been considerable debate concerning th e p ost-S tal in years and th e supposed changes th a t have tak en place in U kraine. T here have been certain changes since th e 20th P a rty C ongress w hich not only condemned Stalin b u t also leaned over backw ards to pacify th e n a tional republics. L enin’s original stand on th e n atio n ality question was placed in ideological ju x ta position to th e stance m ain tain ed by S talin in order to ju s tify th e new cultural pluralism of th e regim e. On th e surface, a t least, it appeared th a t a new U krain- ianization cam paign was on th e way. A re su lt of th is relax ation of restrictio n s during th e K h ru sh chev era was th e em ergence of young and dynam ic U krainian M arxist intellectual elite under th e sp iritu al leadership of V asyl Symonenko, a poet. Symonenko, un fo rtu nately, died of cancer in 1963 a t th e age of 29. H is poem s and diary w ere saved and have since circulated widely on both sides of th e iron curtain. T heir im pact w as b ro u g h t out by Ivan D ziuba a t a lite ra ry m eeting in Kiev in 1965 com m em orating Sym onenko’s th irtie th b irth d ay . “V asyl Sym onenko,” declared Dziuba, “is firs t and forem ost a poet of th e national idea... It is real fo r us today and it re p re sents th e concept of a fully sov ereign sta te and cultural ex ist ence fo r th e U krainian socializa tion.” F o r his unequivocal stand D ziuba was subsequently a rre s t ed along w ith Ivan Svitlychny, an o th er outspoken adm irer of Symonenko. R eleased in 1966, D ziuba delivered a sensational speech a t Babi Y ar, scene of th e N azi m assacre of 60,000 U k ra in ian Jew s d urin g W orld W ar II, when he spoke of N azism and Com m unism as alm ost identical m an ifestation s of th e sam e p h e nomenon. W e now know th a t any con cessions m ade to U krainians, d u r ing th e K hrushchev period w ere also a sham . L arg e scale a rre sts had sta rte d in U kraine as early as 1958 h ighlighted in 1960 w ith th e a rre s t of m em bers of th e U krainian W o rker-P easant A lli ance. The Alliance had urged U krain e’s secession from th e So viet Union as g u aranteed by A r ticle 17 of th e Soviet C onstitu tion. In th e ir proposed resolu tion, couched in precise M arxist- L eninist rh eto ric, m em bers of th e Alliance accused th e Soviet governm ent of th e m u rd er of m illions of persons, of m ass f a O leksa Vlyzko SAILORS S trongly steeled by th e w inds and hot w eather, Sailing over th e ocean and fear, We know never a g ate or a teth er, B ut th e alien sphere. W e h u rl h e a rts a t th e storm w ith sheer courage, W e have sp at in Beelzelub’s face A nd com pute by th e m iles and th e tonnage Our perpetual race, Our protection — th e sharpened stilleto. A nd our im age — sea-flow ering storm s. All our h ea rts live in p o rt n ear th e m eadow W here th e an th ra cite sw arm s. T ranslated by Y ar Slavutych НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ВЕРЕСЕНЬ, 1968 15
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