MINELRES: World Council of Rusyns: National Rights of Rusyns in Ukraine

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Elaine Rusinko <rusinko@umbc.edu>


02 June 2003

Memorandum of the World Council of Rusyns (Executive Organ of the World
Congress of Rusyns)

To the Government of Ukraine:

On the Violation of National and Other Rights of the Subcarpathian
Rusyns in Ukraine

The Rusyn organizations of the Transcarpathian oblast� and individual
Ukrainian citizens of Rusyn nationality have more than once addressed
the government of Ukraine at all levels, including the highest,
concerning the violation of the rights of Subcarpathian Rusyns.
Unfortunately, the responses they have received to their petitions
demonstrate that in regard to the Rusyn problem, the state organs of the
government of Ukraine officially preserve the principles that were
established by the Soviet totalitarian regime upon the unification of
Subcarpathian Rus� to the Ukrainian republic of the USSR back in
1944-1946.

Not only has the government of independent Ukraine failed to renounce
the policy of assimilation and ethnocide of Rusyns that was initiated
and implemented by the totalitarian regime, it has openly declared its
anti-Rusyn intentions. Of all the branches of state power, the most
anti-Rusyn activity has originated in the Cabinet of Ministers of
Ukraine, which developed the anti-Rusyn �Proposed Measures [for
Resolving the Problem of Ukrainian-Rusyns]� (No. 13-884/2 from 7 October
1996). [Available at http://www.lemko.org/rusyn/kurasen.html] This plan
makes it clear that it is the goal of the government of Ukraine to
reinforce and complete the assimilation and ethnocide of Subcarpathian
Rusyns and to prevent the revival of the indigenous Carpatho-Rusyn
people, who were recognized as far back as 1918-1919 by the
international community (particularly in the Treaty of St. Germain) as a
distinct Slavic people. This act of international law is observed today
by democratic nations of the world in regard to the Rusyn national
community. 

The above-mentioned Ukrainian �Proposed Measures �� in regard to the
problem of Rusyns has not been repealed, in spite of its clearly
antidemocratic character. On the contrary, all Rusyn organizations in
the Transcarpathian oblast� attest that the Ukrainian government
systematically, actively, and by all available means continues the
implementation of these disgraceful �Proposed Measures ��. This is
demonstrated specifically by the appearance of another document similar
to the �Proposed Measures �,� developed in Kiev by the �National
Institute of International Security� under the title �The Destructive
Potential of the Rusyn Movement in Transcarpathia�.
[http://www.karpatorusyns.org/more.php?id=48_0_1_0]  Such oppression of
Rusyns is implemented openly in Ukraine, but is carried on covertly by
the Ukrainian government in all countries where Rusyns live.

The problems of Rusyns are presented from a distorted perspective in the
spirit of the principles established by the former totalitarian regime.
This was felt especially in the preparation for and conduct of the
Ukrainian census of December 2001, and it substantially influenced the
non-objective results of the census in regard to Rusyns. As attested by
the Rusyn organizations of Subcarpathia, the sixth question on the
census form, �Your ethnic descent� was replaced in the �Instructions�
for census-takers by the question �Your nationality,� and supplemented
with the simultaneous explanation that the nationality �Rusyn� does not
exist in Ukraine. Thus, Rusyns were deliberately prodded away from their
historical nationality, and the census-takers completed the census
forms, for the most part, in the absence of the respondents. 

In spite of the extraordinarily unfavorable conditions, 10.1 thousand
Rusyns insisted that their nationality and language be listed as Rusyn.
Using the methodology of the totalitarian regime and the results of
totalitarian �scientific research� in the humanitarian sphere, the
government of Ukraine without any foundation counted this ancient Slavic
people as �ethnic Ukrainians.�

While the numerous petitions of Rusyn organizations about the problems
of Rusyns sent to the government of Ukraine received arbitrary responses
on the basis of the same so-called �scientific research,� the appeal of
the V World Congress of Rusyns (Uzhhorod, May 1999) to the government of
Ukraine (text attached) [
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/1999/06/3-CEE/cee-280699.html ] was
generally ignored.

The World Council of Rusyns is concerned with humanitarian problems like
the violation of rights not only for individuals, but also for the
entire Rusyn national community in Ukraine. This is one factor that
creates a negative image of Ukraine as a state in the eyes of European
and international democratic societies. We expect that a correct
resolution to the problems of Rusyns based on democratic principles, in
particular the implementation of the proposals and recommendations of
the V World Congress of Rusyns to the government of Ukraine, will
demonstrate that the Ukrainian state has made progress toward the
standards of the European Community and will make Ukraine a friend of
the international community of Rusyns. 

Respecfully, for the World Council of Rusyns
Alexander Zozuliak
Chairman of the World Council of Rusyns 
Original in Ukrainian at http://www.karpatorusyns.org/weblog.php