Ukrainian solidarity with Lithuania
USSR VSEVOLOD IS'KIV, a leader of the Ukrainian national democratic movement, RUKH, and a member of the Lvov city soviet, gave the following interview to Gerry Foley in Tallinn, Estonia, at the end of May, during the congress of the Estonian People's Front. The interview has been translated from Russian.
H OW has RUKH responded
to the blockade of Lithuania? Today the question of helping Lithuania is very important for us in Ukraine, and especially for us in RUKH. In many cities, committees are being formed or have been formed to aid Lithuania. I can talk about Lvov most concretely. We have already turned over to Sajudis more than 10,000 rubles. We are continuing to collect money. I know that dozens of tons of gasoline have been collected. We have gone to factories that can offer help, either on conditions of exchange or whatever conditions are acceptable to factories in Lithuania in order to obtain other lubricants, everything that Lithuania needs in crude oil and other things. We are collecting coupons, sugar, and of course medical supplies. We have done so much for Sajudis that they have opened up a little office in Lvov. And so the work is becoming more and more organized. There are about 50 people in our
• How many committees are there?
I don't know exactly, but I know that efforts were made to form committees in every. district, and so it is likely that they exist in most districts. I know that in many areas, RUKH is sponsoring them, but RUKH is not yet in a position everywhere to organize people for such aid, given the disinformation that there is in Ukraine. So, our help is more political and moral, and the amount of material aid is not so great. However democratic Ukraine is coming more and more to understand, and is beginning to get specific information about what is going on in the Baltic coun tries and particularly in Lithuania. This is leading to a turn in public opinion. Ukraine cannot yet detach itself from the 1O ed to its difficult position, and as a resu
In, and as a resu International Viewpoint #189 • July 16, 1990 not everyone realizes that a blow to Lithuania is a blow to Ukraine, a blow to democratic Russia.
• Are the majority at least in western Ukraine favorable to Lithuania?
I know that the people massively sup port the struggle of the Lithuanian people, the Latvian people, the Estonian people and others who are trying to win their independence, to win social and democratic freedoms. I have no doubts about that. I would not want to make a distinction between western and eastern Ukraine. There is a problem of information. People [in western Ukraine] listen to Polish radio and the western radio stations. They watch TV from Czechoslovakia and Romania, and that produces an effect. These broadcasts don't reach the eastern Ukraine.
• Is there organized support for Lithuania in the Don coalfields?
Undoubtedly, but I don't know concretely about that. I talked with some people from the Armenian People's Front, and despite all the difficulties they have with the blockade they themselves are suffering in the Caucasus, they are also helping Lithuania.
• Does RUKH have any masscirculation publications?
No democratic forces in Ukraine have any mass media, not even the strongest ones. There is Narodna Hazeta, but that has a circulation of ten thousand for 52 million Ukrainians. In Lvov, we have small, informal papers, six or seven of them, but they don't differ much from Narodna Hazeta. They appear two or three times a month. But it is easier for us in Lvov, because there is a youth paper there. It used to be called Leninskaya Molod' ("Leninist Youth"). Now it is called Molodaya Halichina ("Young Galicia"). Formally, it belongs to the Komsomolebut the Komsomol here has gone through such a transformation that it allowed us to present this paper as an organ of Rukh. It represented the positions on which we stand. Its circulation is more than 180,000.
In Lvov, Rukh won a complete victory in the elections. We won in the Lvoy district, as well as in. Galicia [western Ukraine] and in other areas in various degrees. But we won clear victories mostly in Galicia. The problem of information is the biggest problem. Today an intense struggle is going on with the new Soviet regime, if we can call it that, because I am also a deputy to the Lvov city soviet, and so I am part of the new Soviet regime, if
THE STATEMENT that follows was issued by the Lviv Committee for the Defence of Citizens Rights on March 19. THE MOMENT HAS COME for a decisive struggle of the oppressed peo ples of the world's last empire, the USSR. The establishment of Independent states has become the main pre requisite not only for achleving better living conditions and better conditions for the development of all the nations, but alao an indispensable prerequisite for their biological survival, Ukraine is no exception. The threat of total destruction hangs over her, If she does not liberate hersell from the colonial yoke in the coming
Lithuania Is the first swallow to escape from the Imprisoning imperialIst cage The courageous people of this small country have demonstrated great political maturity and great soildarity. Today, Lithuania is showing all peoples of the empire the best way to establish an Independent state
The breakup of the empire la inevitabie. The way this occurrs, in a civilaccompanied by violence and chaos will depend on the capacity of all of us to lake up the defense of the Lithuanian people againat the violence of the Imperialist forces
In demonstrating our soliderity with the Lithuanian people, we are fighting for our own freedom.
People of Ukraine!
Remember that freedom la Indivisi biel Today, the front line of the strug, gle for your freedom Is in Lithuanie.
So, we are not going to let the Mos cow imperialists crush the young
We appeal to the workers collec Ukraine to take a conscious civic position of solidarity with Lithuania
In the event of a military Intervention and violence against free Lithuawill respond by political protest strikes. *
The Lviv Committee to Defend the Righte of Citizens (Strike
Committee) you like, a new democratic one. RUKH has come to power in Lvov. The party does not want to turn the [city soviet] paper over to us. We managed, by raising a lot of commotion, to get Kiev and Moscow to allow us to set up another paper.
We called it "Za Vil' nu Ukrainu'" ["For a Free Ukraine"). It has reached a circulation of 100,000. This is the first such paper, a government organ, that will present the program of the democratic bloc that is in power. And other parties can publish their papers. Such papers have already appeared, published by both the Republican Party and the Christian Democratic Party. *