The situation in Ukraine

[Natalia Pylypiuk]

Dear Colleagues,

Our appeal, "Intellectuals in support of democracy in Ukraine," has 
been widely disseminated in Ukraine during the presidential elections. 
It was placed on the most widely read Ukrainian websites (most of the 
newspapers are under state control, so nowadays people in Ukraine rely 
primarily on the Internet). It was also publicized by Radio BBC 
Ukrainian, Radio Liberty, the independent "TV 5 Channel," and the 
journal "Krytyka."  It has frequently been singled out as one of the 
most important and efficient letters circulating in Ukraine in support 
of democracy.

Unfortunately, public actions like ours could not deter the people in 
power from falsifying the elections. The official results give a slight 
margin for the official candidate, Yanukovych, over Yushchenko. 
However, all exit polls clearly showed a victory for Yushchenko, the 
candidate of the opposition. Massive fraud and falsifications have been 
noted by numerous Ukrainian and Western observers, including President 
Bush's representative Senator Lugar.

Ukraine is heading into a severe political crisis. Hundred of thousands 
of people in Kyiv and other major cities are in the streets ready to 
defend their choice. Many of them are students. Several universities 
have declared their willingness to go on strike. Over 150 Ukrainian MPs 
have called for an extraordinary meeting of the Ukrainian parliament to 
remedy the fraud, and several municipal councils have also joined the 
protest movement.

Events in Ukraine today are comparable to those in Budapest in 1956, to 
Prague in 1968, the Poland of Solidarnosc, and  Moscow in 1991.

Ukraine has demonstrated its desire to be a democratic country. We 
reiterate our support  and urge all to contact their elected 
representatives and the media  to help the  cause of democracy in 
Ukraine.

Students in Ukraine and other countries are initiating protests at 
large university campuses. Please provide them with help and 
encouragement and, wherever possible, join them.  Extraordinary times 
require extraordinary measures.

Please disseminate this appeal among your friends and colleagues.  Your 
support is crucial.

You can find updated information on the most recent developments in 
Ukraine on the Websites:

http://www.brama.com/news/
http://www2.pravda.com.ua/en

Best regards,

George G. Grabowicz, Harvard University (USA)
Alexandra Hnatiuk, Warsaw University (Poland)
Yaroslav Hrytsak, Lviv National University (Ukraine),
  and Central European University (Hungary)
Andrij Mokrousov, "Krytyka" Monthly Review (Ukraine)
Natalia Pylypiuk, University of Alberta (Canada)
Frank Sysyn, University of Alberta (Canada)
        	



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Dr. Natalia Pylypiuk, Associate Professor
Modern Languages and Cultural Studies  http://www.mlcs.ca
200 Arts, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2E6
voice mail: (780) 492-3498

Canadian Association of Slavists
http://www.ualberta.ca/~csp/cas

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