On March 20 a round table organized by the For Inter-Ethnic Peace and Concord in Ukraine Association and dedicated to the International fight against racism week, was held at the IREX ProMedia Press Center. During the conference its participants brought up the issue of expression of ethnic prejudice in Ukraine and ways to address this serious problem. The concern expressed by the representatives of national minorities is quite justified, since, despite legislative acts existing in Ukraine and no open mass expressions of chauvinism, many minorities suffer from infringement of their rights and freedoms. Association Vice President Oleksandr Naiman believes that the mass media are partly to blame for kindling ethnic enmity. According to him, a number of publications express markedly anti-Semitic sentiments. The issue of the Black population of Ukraine was also not ignored. Ukrainian-African Cultural Center President Ben Anum-Dorhuso stated that the African community in Ukraine has reached 5000, and the issue of acknowledging Africans’ rights still has not been raised. Mr. Dorkhuso understands that the problem of illegal emigrants in Ukraine is a pressing one. However, often offensive actions of Ukrainian police against legal Black citizens, as he put it, infringe on their human rights. The association strives to unite the efforts of all national minority communities in Ukraine to track down and analyze expressions of xenophobia, reports Natalia MELNYK. As we know, it is always easier to stamp out a disease at its initial stage before it becomes chronic.
