Now is the time to act - Evhen Czolij on events in Ukraine

Evhen Czolij talks about some of the difficulties inherent in
Ukraine's attempts to integrate into Europe with some
countries such as Poland, strongly supporting Ukraine,
and others like Germany and France, more interested in
cozying up to the Russian Federation rather than
supporting democracy in Eastern Europe

IF YOU MISSED THE EVENT - Svitohliad will be running a report on Evhen Czolij's talk on December 31, on OMNI 1. Show starts at 8pm.

Evhen Czolij, President of the Ukrainian World Congress spoke to a full house on Thursday, talking about the troubling directions Ukraine's government is taking in terms of democracy, rule of law, energy independence and integration into the European community. But his speech contained many positive notes too.

His core message was that not only organizations, but individuals too need to keep up the pressure on the government of Victor Yanukovych to ensure that Ukraine does not veer too far off the track towards buidling a civil society in which individuals are free from harassment and arbitrary application of laws and "administrative resources".

UCU Board Chair Eugene Roman points to a member
of the audience who just annouced she is adding another
$1,000 to the donations. Also pictured Annie Mishchenko,
Vice-Chair of the UCU Board and Evhen Czolij

Over 100 people packed the foyer of Trident Banquet Hall in the UNF building at 145 Evans. The audience came to hear what is happening in Ukraine, but more specifically how they as individuals could help. Czolij encouraged them to make their voices heard not just in angry conversations amongst themselves, but by lobbying their local MPs to make sure Canada continues to provide its strong support for the development of civil society, rule of law, and democracy in Ukraine. He also reminded people not to neglect writing letters directly to President Yanukovych, his cabinet ministers and other politcal players in Ukraine. "They pay attention to that kind of thing," he said.

Members of the UCU Board and CEO Taras Pidzamecky
(far right) with Evhen Czolij (4th from left)

The evening also turned out to be a fund-raising success for the Ukrainian World Congress. Ukrainian Credit Union Limited donated $10,000, UNF Toronto gave $1,000, UNF Toronto-West gave $1,000, UNF Sudbury $500 and UNF Ntional $500. Members of the audience donated another $14,120 for a total of just over $24,000.

In his thank you to the generosity of the people who came to the event Czolij underscored the importance of Ukrainian financial institutions to the health of the Ukrainian diaspora. "The Ukrainian credit unions in Canada and America are what makes the work of the Ukrainian World Congress possible. Without their generous financial support, we would not be able to meet our annual budget,: he said, "so I encourage you to think about that next time you are wondering where to deposit your savings or where to get a mortgage."

You can see more pictures of the event on our Facebook page. You can also watch the Kontakt broadcast next week for a report on Czolij's message. More information will appear in Noviy Shliakh (New Pathway) and Meest newspapers as well. We'll see if we can post some video footage too, no promises though, depends on the quality.