Toronto -- May 22, 2009

Dear Ukrainian patriots
and friends of Ukraine the world over!

With the full support of the Canadian Friends of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, members of the the Ukrainian community and all that support a free and independent Ukraine achieved substantial success in honourably commemorating the 75th anniversary of the tragic events in our nation's history -- the Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933, perpetrated by that era's occupying government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. But this was only one part of a larger ongoing mission to establish the facts about Ukraine and Ukrainians -- facts which have escaped the world at large due to the suppression of historical truth that went hand in hand with the injustice our nation has suffered for centuries under various occupations.

For example, back in the 15th century, brutal occupying forces overwhelmed the defenders of Ukrainian lands -- the Kozak armies of Ivan Mazepa at Baturyn and later at Zaporizhian Sich. Conquering marauders from the north passed on a cruel ideology to their ancestors and eventually, it made its way into the minds of modern day crusaders, who were active against the Ukrainian nation even as recently as during the period following World War II. At that time, their goal was to defeat the remnants of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrajins'ka Povstans'ka Armija, or UPA) and other underground warriors that fought for an independent and sovereign Ukrainian state. Thankfully, today Ukraine is free and this freedom was won by the sons and daughters of the brave and glorious insurgents and underground freedom fighters. However, it is the veterans of the now defunct occupying forces that are known as heroes in Ukraine and they are the only ones that enjoy full benefits, including substantial pensions.

But where is the truth? Since the beginning of the post-Soviet era, much of today's Ukraine is being governed and manipulated by the conquering class which has retained the mentality of an occupier. Veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and members of various underground formations -- soldiers who shed their blood during the last world war and were prepared to give their lives in the name of the good of the Ukrainian nation -- have ended up as second class citizens in their own native land, a land which sometimes can be difficult to call home because of this injustice.

Still today, a majority within the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv looks at Ukraine's true defenders that fought for her freedom through Soviet-style glasses. These People's Deputies refuse to pass legislation to honour spiritually and socially this group of remarkable heroes.

Ukrainian blood -- notwithstanding whether it was shed by patriots in the forests of Volyn, members of foreign legions, prisoners in Siberian concentration camps or unarmed recruits that were forced to the front by foreigners -- has been shed on Ukrainian battlefields and it has the same colour and the same value in the soul of a free Ukraine. In a free Ukraine, there cannot be those that are more equal than others -- all must be equal.

For this reason, Stepan Horlatsch sought out people of similar thought and together they will travel to Ukraine this summer to visit each oblast's capitol city. Along with Orthodox and Catholic clergy, they will march from the outer regions to each city centre to hold a memorial service for all true defenders of our native land. This will include those victims of war that served at various times, in various occupying formations, with the intention of gaining military intelligence and knowledge of the enemy to use in battle for a sovereign and independent Ukraine -- free of Soviet and Nazi oppressors and occupiers.

Our sacred and historic land, also known as Rus-Ukraine, has raised all of her fallen heroes to the same level and they need our prayers in equal measure. Their bones are scattered around the world, but their souls together beseech us to pray for them all.

Let us sift through the soil of our sacred land and we shall find those lost remains ... bones of soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Volyn and of soldiers in the "Halychyna" Division at Brody; bones of Red Army defenders around the capital of Kyiv; bones of defenders of Odessa -- the Black Sea Fleet sailors in the outer regions; remains of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen on the mountain of Makivka; bones of defenders of Baturyn -- the glorious soldiers of Hetman Ivan Mazepa's army; bones of Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyj's Kozaks at Konotop; bones of Ihor Sviatoslavych's army -- those remains in the lands around Luhansk and Donetsk, soaked in Princess Yaroslavna's tears; bones of Zaporizhan Kozaks -- not only drowned in the Kakhov Sea, but also scattered throughout Crimean and Bessarabian lands, as well as all over the world. Many of these resting places are known only to you.

We ask all citizens in every oblast of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to prepare requiem prayers for Ukraine's freedom fighters -- for those whose remains, in your opinion, found eternal rest in your region; please send copies of these prayers to us to support our actions and to help publish a book about these events.

The final memorial service and requiem mass will be held in Kyiv and will include prominent Ukrainian politicians and spiritual representatives.

We appeal to all veterans of all formations, as well as all people of goodwill that were not indifferent to commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine to please support us morally and financially.

Please contact the committee for further information:

telephone: 416 671-1805 or 416 536-8776

544 Indian Road
Toronto, Ontario M6P 2C2
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://vichnaslavapolehlym.blogspot.com

An account has been opened at the Ukrainian Credit Union:
"Yednosti Sobor", number 4625970

For the committee:
Stepan Horlatsch -- Lubomyra Matvias -- Andrij Holovatyj
ETERNAL GLORY TO THE FALLEN -- FOR UKRAINE'S FREEDOM!