[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15611]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   THE UKRAINE CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE AND PROMOTION OF 
                           DEMOCRATIC IDEALS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2001

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, on August 26, 2001, the Wisconsin Branch of 
the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and the Cooperation of 
Ukrainian Churches and Civic Organizations will commemorate 10 years of 
Ukrainian independence from the United Soviet Socialist Republics.
  For over a thousand years, the Ukraine nation and the Ukrainian 
people have bravely faced adversity and have struggled to gain 
independence as a sovereign nation.
  The Ukraine was a country constantly under siege, suffering 
onslaughts from Muscovy, Poland, Lithuania and the Austro-Hungarian 
Empire. In the 13th century, the empire gradually began to disintegrate 
into city-states that would become the modem-day countries of Russia 
and Belarus. The Ukraine was able to gain independence for a very brief 
period in the mid 1600's and again achieved a brief independence 
following WWI, from 1917-1918. However, during the inter-war period, 
the Ukraine was partitioned between the Soviet Union and Poland and 
remained under the communist regime until 1991.
  The 20th century history of the Ukraine is marked by the repression 
of the Soviet regime. In 1986 Americans watched in horror along with 
the rest of the world as the tragedy of Chernobyl unfolded before our 
eyes. The Chernobyl disaster, along with the USSR's mishandling of the 
environmental cleanup, sparked a new spirit of nationalism in the form 
of ``Rukh,'' the Ukrainian People's Movement for Restructuring. Rukh 
nationalism and increased freedom brought about by Gorbachev's 
``glasnost'' policy led to the declaration of Ukrainian independence on 
August 24,1991.
  The years of exploitation by the communist government left the 
Ukraine struggling to establish a viable socio-economic infrastructure. 
The residents of the Ukraine, with the assistance of the Ukrainian 
Congress Committee of America (UCCA) are committed to help strengthen 
Ukraine's development as a democratic, market-orientated state.
  The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) is a non-profit 
educational and charitable institution that seeks to preserve and 
disseminate the rich intellectual and cultural heritage of Ukrainian 
Americans. The UCCA also serves as a vehicle by which Ukrainian 
Americans provide humanitarian aid and assistance to the residents of 
the Ukraine and Ukrainians throughout the former Soviet Union.
  So, it is with a spirit of hope for the future of the nation of the 
Ukraine, that I join with the Wisconsin branch of the Ukrainian 
Congress Committee of America and the Cooperation of Ukrainian Churches 
and Civic Organizations to congratulate the Ukrainian people on 10 
years of independence. May the Ukraine prosper and enjoy many more 
decades of independence, freedom and democracy.

                          ____________________