We saw in the letter of Wiesenthal to Bailey of 26 Nov 84 that Wiesethal had already met with Bailey once, and the letter itself constituted a second communication, for a total of two known communications up to that time. The letter below indicates that Wiesenthal has telephoned Bailey twice since 26 Nov 84, and has arranged to meet with him yet again in Vienna in January. Thus, the number of communications from Wiesenthal to RFE/RL that can be inferred from the scant evidence that we have before us is seen to be a minimum of five. Thus, the dismissal of Valentyn Moroz is not for Simon Wiesenthal a one-time recommendation that he passes along to RFE/RL for its consideration, but rather may be something closer to a committment that will not end until Moroz is dismissed.
Mr. Wiesenthal's communications, furthermore, are not ones that seek to inform or persuade � rather, they strike George Bailey as peremptory and dictatorial. I infer this from Bailey stating that "Mr. Wiesenthal has made it clear that he expects us to dissociate ourselves from Valentin Moroz, i.e., discontinue to use him as a freelance...." Mr. Wiesenthal does not "plead" that RFE/RL will dissociate itself; he does not "hope" that RFE/RL will dissociate itself; he does not "recommend" that RFE/RL will dissociate itself � he "expects" it! What is far from clear is by what authority, or by what power, it is that Mr. Wiesenthal is able to exercise such control.
Anatol Kaminsky, Chief Editor of the Ukrainian Service, is portrayed as taking Moroz's part below, but we don't know what Mr. Kaminsky's background is, what his credentials or loyalties are, what proportion of the Wiesenthal pressure he was apprised of, or whether his opinion was solicited to each of Wiesenthal's communications, or only to a fraction, and don't know whether he was consulted several times, or only once. It appears doubtful, furthermore, that any Ukrainian representative was present during either of the face-to-face meetings with Wiesenthal in Vienna � one past and one future � that is referred to below.
Furthermore, the bulk of Wiesenthal's communication is unknown. What was said during the two meetings and two telephone conversations, we do not know at all. Of the five Wiesenthal communications, we have only the one Wiesenthal letter, and it tells us next to nothing. We can glean that Wiesenthal wants Valentyn Moroz shut down, and we can see that RFE/RL is lending a deferential ear to Wiesenthal's call, but what the details of the affair are is hidden from our gaze.
Did Simon Wiesenthal's communications succeed in inhibiting RFE/RL from broadcasting Valentyn Moroz? To date, I do not have any information on that question. Already evident below, however, is RFE/RL refusing to broadcast some of Moroz's statements, specifically, the Ukrainian Voice / Canadian Farmer article, as is evidenced in George Bailey's statement: "The Ukrainian Service has not and will not broadcast the article or any part of it." No specific reason is given for refusing to broadcast this statement of Moroz. We can only conjecture that the reason is that such a broadcast would have been contrary to Jewish interests. Overlooked, however, is that the article contained rare and valuable truths that would have strengthened Ukraine. And it is worthy of note that George Bailey does not merely suppress some portions of Moroz's article � he suppresses all of it. "The Ukrainian Service has not and will not broadcast the article or any part of it"!
A glimpse of the inner workings of The Ukrainian Service of RFE/RL, then, gives the impression that it has been misnamed the "Ukrainian Service," and might better have been called the "Jewish Service." The impression that our glimpse leaves is that RFE/RL is already subjecting a Ukrainian nationalist to severe censorship, and the only question being debated within RFE/RL is whether that censorship should become total.
| TO: | Mr. James L. Buckley President, RFE/RL, Inc. |
DATE: 21 December 1984 |
| FROM: | George Bailey [with signed initials] Director, RLD |
REFERENCE: |
| SUBJECT: | Valentin Moroz |
Attached are a letter from Simon Wiesenthal protesting an article by the Ukrainian dissident Valentin Moroz and a translation of Moroz's article.
I have had two telephone conversations with Simon Wiesenthal (both initiated by him) since receiving his letter and have arranged to meet with him in Vienna sometime in January.
Mr. Wiesenthal has made it clear that he expects us to dissociate ourselves from Valentin Moroz, i.e., discontinue to use him as a freelance, as a result of this article. (The Ukrainian Service has not and will not broadcast the article or any part of it.) Anatol Kaminsky, the Chief Editor of the Ukrainian Service, makes the point that the dismissal of Moroz on such grounds would fuel the fires of anti-Semitism in the international Ukrainian community where Moroz is regarded as a hero of national resistance. Indeed, Moroz spent just short of thirteen years in Soviet prisons and concentration camps for "anti-Soviet activities". He is a very good writer and voicer of radio scripts and, of course, a great name for our listeners.
Your comments on Valentin Moroz's article and Simon Wiesenthal's letter would be appreciated.
GB:am