Who Represents the Ukrainian Community?

By Volodymyr Kish

There has been a lot of noise made of late by Taras Kuzio, a well-known expert on Ukrainian affairs, and a group called the Canadian Group 4 Democracy in Ukraine (CG4DU) in which they sharply criticize the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) for not being activist enough in supporting the cause of imprisoned Yulia Tymoshenko, and failing to take a lead role in organizing public demonstrations and rallies against what is going in Ukraine. The CG4DU has been active in that respect, having organized a number of protests this past year in front of the Ukrainian Consulate in Toronto. It also runs a Facebook blog page which produces a prolific amount of articles and information exposing the black deeds of the current Yanukovych regime in Ukraine. No doubt, the group sees itself as representing the political consciousness of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada. But does it really?

Who and what is the CG4DU. The group was formed just over a year ago by several Ukrainian “activists” in Toronto and its Facebook blog page is its prime focus of activity. I should add that apparently I belong to this group, though I never applied or asked to join. I was simply added to the ranks of their Facebook group. I have not sought to leave this group as the blog does publish a lot of interesting and valuable material from its various sources in Canada and Ukraine which I find useful in keeping tabs on what is happening in Ukrainian politics.

As far as I know, the group is not officially sponsored or sanctioned by any organization. It does not seem to have any governing structure and is not responsible or accountable to anyone. Basically, most of the postings and activities of the group are the work of around a half dozen individuals whom I would characterize as modern day crusaders for the nationalistic Ukrainian cause. They are also ardent supporters of Yulia Tymoshenko and strong advocates of public demonstrations and protests to advance their causes.

There is of course, nothing wrong in any of this, and in many ways they serve a useful purpose in raising public awareness of important Ukrainian issues. However, in attacking the UCC for failing to follow their lead and supporting their activities, they are overstepping their bounds and demonstrating a narrow mindedness that is reminiscent of all the factionalism and self-righteousness that has plagued Ukrainian organizations since the split of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the 1930s.

Unlike the CG4DU, the UCC is a genuinely representative organization, accountable to its constituent members and composed of elected individuals. While the CG4DU can afford the luxury of focusing all its efforts on one cause (the political situation in Ukraine), the UCC has a broad spectrum of responsibilities that include the political, cultural, educational and linguistic well-being of the Ukrainian community in Canada. Which is not to say that the UCC has not been active in promoting the cause of a civil and democratic society in Ukraine – in fact it has been particularly influential and effective in this regard, having established strong ties and communications with the federal government, through which considerable political and economic pressure has been brought to bear on the Ukrainian government. While public demonstrations may get you some media attention and make the organizers feel like they are doing something, their actual value in influencing Canadian government action is marginal compared to the real lobbying and behind the scenes work being done by organizations such as the UCC and the CUF (Canada Ukraine Foundation).

It is not incumbent upon the UCC to support self-appointed crusaders like the CG4DU no matter how just and important they think their cause may be. Rather, if the members of CG4DU really want to be constructive, they should try to co-operate and work with UCC, and try to synchronize their efforts with the UCC’s broader based strategies, programs and actions. It is the UCC that represents the broader Ukrainian community throughout Canada, not the CG4DU.

There is a useful role for grass roots movements like the CG4DU to play in informing and motivating the Ukrainian community into action on important issues, such as the unjust incarceration and persecution of Yulia Tymoshenko, as well as exposing the despotic actions of the Yanukovych regime. However, when they start casting stones at the UCC who have a solid track record over the past few years of marshalling effective pressure at the federal and international level against the goings on in Ukraine, then they only risk damaging their own credibility and assuming the mantle of fringe radicals.