These two anniversaries are
historically intertwined. It was on Aug. 24, 1991, that Ukraine’s parliament,
the Verkhovna Rada, declared independence pending the results of a popular
referendum, following the failed hard-line coup in Moscow. And it was six days
later – on Aug. 30, 1991, during the National Opening Ceremonies for the
Centennial of Ukrainians in Canada, that then-Canadian Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney pledged to recognize an independent Ukraine if that’s what the people
of Ukraine voted for.
They did with an overwhelming 91 percent in
favor and Mulroney delivered. Canada became the first Western country and the
second in the world to recognize Ukraine as an independent state.
But 21
years later, the euphoria that accompanied those heady days of expectation is
long gone, replaced not only by deep disappointment, but even despair as to how
events have unfolded in Ukraine. And never has such despair been more prevalent
than under the current regime. Its latest crime against the Ukrainian people
has been the signing by President Viktor Yanukovych of the language law which
denigrates the status of Ukrainian, under the guise of protecting “minority
rights.” Just how hollow this claim is was very aptly demonstrated when Kurt
Volleback, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s High
Commissioner on National Minorities, declared this law “deeply divisive” with
“the disproportionate favoring of the Russian language, while also removing
most incentives for learning or using Ukrainian in large parts of the country.”
Both the Ukrainian World Congress
and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress have condemned this legislation as
unconstitutional – which it is. But then when has the Constitution ever
mattered to the president who is supposed to be its “guarantor?” Yanukovych
unconstitutionally created a parliamentary majority, unconstitutionally sold
Ukrainian sovereignty down the river with the extension of the Russian Black
Sea Fleet’s lease agreement for Sevastopol until 2042, unconstitutionally
imprisoned opposition leaders and exposed them to various forms of
psychological and physical torture, denigrated the immense tragedy of the
genocidal Holodomor, and caved in to Russia on every point he has supposedly
negotiated. So why should language be any different?
In
contrast, the anniversary of Ukrainian settlement in Canada is truly a cause
for celebration. Those impoverished, and often illiterate, peasants who arrived
on the Prairies with all their worldly belongings in a trunk, faced extreme
hardships, lived in mud huts, had to clear huge tracts of forest with the most
primitive tools in order to grow their crops, and faced intense discrimination,
have succeeded in creating a strong and vibrant community that has flourished
and contributed greatly to Canada’s growth. Our community has produced a
governor-general, a supreme court justice four provincial premier, numerous
cabinet ministers, political representatives and leaders in industry, business,
arts, sports – in fact all walks of life.
So what is the reason these two
historic events evolved so differently? It’s a matter of values. Ukrainian
pioneers to Canada, despite their poverty, had a strong sense of values. They
believed in hard work, cherished their language and culture and possessed a
deep and underlying faith in God. On the other hand, Ukraine’s ruling elite is
the product of an atheistic, genocidal, totalitarian system without any values
whatsoever. They are corrupt bullies for whom hard work is no substitute for
theft, without any morality or any appreciation of their heritage.
So as we commemorate Ukraine’s
declaration of independence, we can only pray that those values which were so
highly cherished by the pioneers that came to Canada, can somehow find their
way into the hearts of Ukraine’s elite.
