From Borys Wrzesnewskyj’s Facebook page:
Wrzesnewskyj part of Parliamentary delegation to Ukraine
Ottawa – Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) is part of an official Canadian Parliamentary Delegation to Ukraine led by the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons.
“This official visit by the Speaker of the House of Commons and three Members of Parliament comes at a critically important time for Ukraine. It follows on the threatening comments recently made by President Medvedev of Russia which were a direct challenge to Ukraine’s sovereignty. This trip signals Canada’s support for our countries’ ‘special relationship’ with Ukraine and I intend to use this opportunity to forcefully restate our support for Ukraine’s NATO membership. Besides high-level political meetings we will also be making a solemn visit to the Holodomor (famine/genocide) memorial,†said Wrzesnewskyj.
Following the conclusion of the official visit, Wrzesnewskyj will attend a conference and commemorative event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of RUKH – The People’s Movement of Ukraine.
“I am honoured to have been invited to participate in the 20th anniversary conference and commemoration of the establishment of RUKH (The People’s Movement of Ukraine). It is important for Ukrainians and freedom loving peoples around the world to know about the incredible sacrifices and achievements of Ukraine’s brave political dissidents who stood up to the KGB and the entire communist apparatus of the Soviet Union. The bravery of the late Vyacheslav Chornovil and so many others represents a proud chapter in Ukraine’s history and the global fight for human and national rights. I was honoured to have been an organizer and active participant in the formation of RUKH and its struggle for the independence and democratization of Ukraine during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Ukrainian Canadians played a role during this period and it is one of the reasons why Canada and Ukraine have had, and will continue to have, a special understanding and relationship,†stated Wrzesnewskyj.
Wrzesnewskyj was one of the initial supporters and organizers of RUKH when he traveled to Ukraine in the late 1980s and while it was still part of the communist-run Soviet Union. Through his family foundation Dopomoha Ukrainii, Wrzesnewskyj actively supported the democratic and independence movement in Ukraine donating fax machines, photocopiers, establishing underground printing presses and organizing a distribution network. It was during this period when Ukrainian dissidents were regularly threatened, intimidated and assassinated, that Wrzesnewskyj joined Vyacheslav Chornovil and other former political prisoners to participate in the establishment of RUKH in 1989, as well as the establishment of the Canadian Friends of RUKH in the Fall of the same year.
– 30 –
For further information: Borys Wrzesnewskyj, M.P. (613) 947-5000