<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Arvydas Grišinas</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:a.grisinas@gmail.com">a.grisinas@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: 2014-03-04 19:19 GMT+02:00<br>Subject: Fwd: Appeal Concerning the Latest Events in Ukraine and in Kharkiv<br><br><br>Dear friends,<br>
I am sending you the text of the appeal to the world community of<br>
intellectuals by the Kharkiv Historico-Philological Society. Please<br>
circulate it among your contacts.<br>
<br>
Serhii Vakulenko<br>
<br>
Шановні друзі,<br>
<br>
надсилаю Вам текст відозви Харківського історико-філологічного<br>
товариства до світової інтелектуальної спільноти англійською мовою для<br>
поширення серед Ваших контактів.<br>
<br>
Сергій Вакуленко<br>
<br>
<br>
APPEAL CONCERNING THE LATEST EVENTS<br>
IN UKRAINE AND IN KHARKIV<br>
To all scholars of the world, learned societies,<br>
university staff, men of letters and arts<br>
The Kharkiv Historico-Philological Society, founded in 1886 by the<br>
leading professors of the University of Kharkiv, addresses the<br>
following message to the scholarly community of the world.<br>
<br>
On the 1st of March 2014, a violent clash was staged in Kharkiv<br>
between the supporters of Ukraine's European integration and the<br>
so-called ralliers "for stability and restoration of order". The<br>
supporters of the Maidan for Europe, numbering a little over 100, most<br>
of them university freshmen, were peacefully located in the premises<br>
of the Provincial Administration to which they had been invited on the<br>
23rd of February by the Deputy Governor Vasyl Khoma. They were<br>
demanding the appointment of a new Governor instead of the deeply<br>
compromised Mykhailo Dobkin, a long-time henchman of the ousted<br>
President Yanukovych.<br>
<br>
That same Dobkin, together with his accomplice Hennadii Kernes, the<br>
Mayor of Kharkiv (a former criminal convict, backed by Yanukovych's<br>
Party of Ukraine's Regions) orchestrated a pro-Russian rally to which<br>
about two thousand participants from the nearby Russian city of<br>
Belgorod were brought across the border. To avoid any clashes, the<br>
Co-ordinative Council of the Maidan for Europe cancelled its own<br>
rally, previously summoned at the same time and place. After the end<br>
of the pro-Russian rally a large group of well-trained fighters, armed<br>
with bats, compliance weapons and tear-gas attacked the building of<br>
the Provincial Administration and severely beat its defenders,<br>
throwing them afterwards in the midst of the enraged pro-Russian (and<br>
largely imported from Russia) crowd striking and kicking them. The<br>
police, corrupted by the Mayor Kernes, did not intervene.<br>
<br>
Among the injured defenders of the Provincial Administration were<br>
Serhii Zhadan, a writer of international renown, and one of the<br>
members of our Society Valerii Romanovskyi, PhD, Assistant Professor<br>
in the Ukrainian Academy of Culture in Kharkiv.<br>
<br>
Russian official propaganda and media try to portray the supporters of<br>
democracy and freedom in Ukraine as nationalist nazi-like radicals and<br>
extremists that menace the existence of the Russian-speaking<br>
community. This Goebbelsian rhetoric has nothing to do with the<br>
Ukrainian reality. The nazi tendencies can rather be observed on the<br>
other side. Suffice it to say that the person who put the Russian flag<br>
on the top of the building of Provincial Administration of the<br>
Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Mika Ronkainen, is a Russian citizen and a<br>
Moscow dweller, exhibiting his overt admiration for Adolf Hitler on<br>
the web.<br>
<br>
There is sufficient evidence to affirm that this was a part of the<br>
aggression against Ukraine which is now carried out on the order of<br>
the Russian President Vladimir Putin.<br>
In this connection, we confidently declare that the pretext of<br>
defending the rights of Russian-speaking population in Ukraine, used<br>
by the Russian propaganda, is a pure invention. The Russian language<br>
has always been freely used in the Ukrainian media, schools and<br>
universities, and everyday life. Ukraine has one of the best<br>
legislations in the world ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities,<br>
including state-run schools using not only Russian, but also Crimean<br>
Tatar, Hungarian, Polish, Rumanian as languages of education. In many<br>
areas, including Kharkiv, it is the Ukrainian language that indeed<br>
needs protection and support.<br>
<br>
The attempts to play the ethnic and linguistic card in order to<br>
destabilize the situation in Ukraine come from abroad. During the 22<br>
years of independence, Ukraine has learnt to handle its ethnic and<br>
linguistic problems in a responsible way. Unlike many other<br>
post-Soviet states, it has never had conflicts on ethnic grounds. In<br>
case of need, we solve all our problems by means of open discussion<br>
resulting in a viable compromise. No intervention from outside is<br>
necessary.<br>
<br>
We launch an appeal to the world scholarly community to help<br>
promulgate truthful information concerning the real state of affairs<br>
in Ukraine. Those of you who can address the general public through<br>
all kinds of media, please do it as soon as possible. The<br>
disinformation campaign engineered by the Kremlin must be thwarted. We<br>
want the world to know the truth. The savage rampage, inspired from<br>
Russia, that took place in Kharkiv last Saturday is part of it.<br>
<br>
On behalf of the whole Society<br>
President<br>
Professor Ihor Mykhailyn, PhD, DLitt.<br>
Permanent Secretary<br>
Assistant Professor Serhii Vakulenko, PhD<br>
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