March 25 was the second anniversary of the death of Vyacheslav Chornovil, leader of the Popular Movement (Rukh) of Ukraine. Addressing a press conference dedicated to this date last Thursday, chairman of the Popular Movement of Ukraine (NRU), Hennady Udovenko, noted that this tragic event, as well as the split in the party, became a serious test, but now NRU is, in his opinion, recuperating.
Les Taniuk, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Culture and Intellectual Life and of the Memorial society, announced at the same press conference that NRU intends to approach the governmental bodies with a proposal to institute the official day of memory for the Rukh leader. “We would like it to be the day of moral catharsis, as is Martin Luther King Day in the US. We suggest this day be observed on the third Thursday of March, so that it is not connected specifically with the days of his death or birth,” Mr. Taniuk emphasized.
These days, NRU is also conducting a number of campaigns. In particular, last Thursday Rukh militants released 1998-type leaflets among the people’s deputies, reading the slogan “One law for all! The Popular Rukh of Ukraine. Vyacheslav Chornovil” and the Biblical commandments on the reverse side: “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Love thy neighbor.” March 23 saw a memorial service conducted by Vyacheslav Chornovil’s grave at Baikove Cemetery, a requiem at the place of his death, and a memorial soiree at the House of the Teacher. On Saturday Kyiv saw an opposition-led “memorial march in memory of those eliminated by the totalitarian regime” of Leonid Kuchma. Near the memorial to victims of the Manmade Famine of 1933 at Mykhailivska Square the opposition had a meeting. The first to speak was Taras Chornovil, saying, “Today we have a general day of mourning: two years ago Vyacheslav Chornovil perished and half a year ago Heorhy Gongadze disappeared. How many honest and decent people have left this life who did not want to live in such a state?... Do not stop half way. Otherwise all those who came out today will be victims tomorrow.”
At a Thursday press conference People’s Deputy and Rukh- Udovenko member Les Taniuk called the Ukraine Without Kuchma organizer Volodymyr Chemerys’s “mourning” action to coincide with the anniversary of Vyacheslav Chornovil’s death a provocation, adding that he did not want the day of remembering Vyacheslav Chornovil to “have the coloration of agitation.”
Commenting on Taras Chornovil, the son of Vyacheslav Chornovil, quitting the NRU faction, Popular Rukh chairman Hennady Udovenko pointed out that Taras “is still in the making as a politician and member of parliament, so he needs help in this matter... We must do all we can to make Taras Chornovil act like his father did.” In his turn, Mr. Taniuk said it was a nuisance that the younger Chornovil “has wound up together with the Left.”
“It seemed to him he could lead this rebellion and channel it in the other moral direction. But he failed in this. The mob always clamors for extreme and abrupt actions,” the deputy noted. Mr. Taniuk announced the Rukh’s Lviv branch had set Taras Chornovil a condition that he “revise his actions, leave the company of the Left, Moroz, and other enemies of Ukrainian statehood, and return to the Rukh faction.” The deputy said that Taras Chornovil has a month to think this over. “I think we’ll solve this problem in the immediate future,” Mr. Taniuk said.
On the eve of the mournful anniversary, Atena PASHKO, Vyacheslav Chornovil’s widow, poetess, member of the NRU Central Committee, member of the UNR Political Council, and chairperson of the Union of Ukrainian Women, granted an exclusive interview to The Day.
“Ms. Chornovil, these days are rife with speculation about what would have been had that tragedy not happened. Many, both his followers and opponents, considered Vyacheslav Chornovil an equilibrating constant of Ukrainian politics.”
“No doubt. At least, the overwhelming majority of people think so. I also think that if Vyacheslav Chornovil were living today, the sociopolitical situation in this country would be more stable.”
“Elevated as it may sound, he would, in my opinion, have shown which way to go. And he would have been heeded: there would be no this commotion and discord. He had a proper charisma for this, he believed in people, and they believed him.
“As time goes by, you begin to understand things not so obvious previously. Indisputably, the farther those events stand from us, the better we will understand this figure. We will be analyzing Chornovil’s actions and the way he could find solutions for various situations thanks to his political wisdom. We will learn and master this. I am sure of this. I believe in his words: ‘We will stand up for Rukh. I am convinced!’”
“You are quite a strong person, who, despite all you have endured, is pressing for an investigation into this affair. You have repeatedly turned, supported by Rukh, to the Prosecutor General’s Office...”
“Yes, of course. But it is owing to my friends, because I could hardly make it on my own. It is too early for me to seek the truth in cold blood and sober mind, but I am waiting for the truth and I hope I will be helped in my search for the truth. And I don’t think the death of my husband will ever remain a secret because he never was a secret for anyone. He was open to everybody, like an open book.”
“You have set up the Vyacheslav Chornovil International Charitable Foundation. What is its objective?”
“The idea to establish this foundation came up immediately after the death of Vyacheslav Chornovil. It was very hard: it took a year to work out the statute, for we wanted everything to be on a proper level. What are we doing now? The Chornovil Foundation plans to publish his scholarly, epistolary, and political works. It could run to a ten volume publication.
“Besides, the Foundation has rendered financial aid to many districts and cities which try to erect monuments to Vyacheslav Chornovil. We have awarded scholarships, rather modest so far, to the best students at the Ukrainian Liberal Arts Lyceum in Kyiv for the second year. Our foundation also plans to award prizes to journalists. But, first of all, we want to have a monument erected. An oak cross, already loose, has been installed on Vyacheslav Chornovil’s grave at Baikove Cemetery for as long as two years. Of course, it looks touching: a wooden cross, an embroidered rushnyk (towel — Ed.), bunches of periwinkles and daisies. This is romantic, of course. And I think only romanticists can do great deeds. Vyacheslav Chornovil was once reproached for political romanticism, and I think he was a romanticist in the noblest sense of the word. Yet, we also need a monument, a concrete memory, and concrete actions. For Vyacheslav Chornovil was not devoid of political pragmatism either. So we must do our best to have a monument.”
“What is your appraisal of Taras Chornovil’s political potential?”
“I think the spirit of his father will help him. I do believe he will embark on a road that his father would approve, that will satisfy Taras himself and benefit Ukraine.”
