Kyiv, May 20th, 2014 – members of the initiative group “Pershogo Grudnya” Vyacheslav Bryukhovetsky, Yevgen Sverstyuk and Vadym Skurativskyy have made public the text of the appeal about the President elections in Ukraine, which refers to the importance of participation in the elections on May 25th of every citizen of the country.
“For the first time the elections will be held under the conditions of war. This situation requires a great solidarity and unity of society. We call on all the citizens to participate in the national elections. Today it is the main way to protect yourself, your people and the country. Non-participation in elections is the abdication of own responsibility for the destiny of the country. The new President will arrive in a difficult time and will need support of the people. The new President should bring hopes for real freedom and democracy, free economy without corruption and criminality. At the same time we all should expect this not only from the President, but also be responsible for the observance of our rights and freedoms. There can be no compromise with those who want to destroy Ukraine. One can not endanger democracy and European perspective”, – says the appeal.
Honorary President of the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” Vyacheslav Bryukhovetsky also said: “from the vote of every person depends not only who will win, but what quality will win”. Also a historian Vadym Skurativskyy commented on the historical importance of the upcoming elections: “Throughout centuries Ukraine has been the main assistant of the Russian Empire. Now there is an attempt to return it to the same state: it is going to be not only Ukrainian, but also a global catastrophe if the world returns to the 20th century. On May 25th there will be a chance that can help us in this fight”.
A writer Yevgen Sverstyuk also stressed that the elections will be held in a state of war and there is a threat of their disruption: the enemy can get activated during the elections, he is afraid of the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government. According to Mr. Sverstyuk “Voters are not just choosing someone who they like. They choose someone who can really take on this responsibility. We have heard enough populists. Populism is the offspring of communism. It’s the same thing, only it is disguised in democracy”. He also drew attention to the importance of nationalism in the context of all the events taking place: “True nationalism is the basis for solidarity of society. Where it doesn’t exist, it is possible to conduct aggressive experiments. We saw this on the example of Crimea. It is about nationalism – in positive meaning. From the fact that the word came to be used as dirty, it has not lost its meanings”.
The initiative group “Pershogo Grudnya” is an association created upon request of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. To the basis of the program documents the declaration with the basic principles for the unification of the Ukrainian people and the charter of a free man that captures the guidelines for our society are laid to. Events of the initiative group are held in form of National Round tables that bring together leading experts, journalists, lawyers, economists, historians and public figures.
Vyacheslav Bryukhovetsky – Honorary President of the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, member of the National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO, teacher, scholar, doctor of philological sciences, candidate of pedagogical sciences, Ukrainian public figure. On May 25, 2007 was awarded the title of the Hero of Ukraine for outstanding contribution to the national revival of Ukraine, significant personal contribution to the development of national education and science, lasting fruitful scientific, pedagogical and socio- political activities. One of the members of the initiative group “Pershogo Grudnya”.
Vadym Skurativskyy – Ukrainian art critic, historian, literary critic and publicist. Professor of Kiev National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television of Karpenko-Kary, Doctor of Arts, candidate of philology sciences, Associate Member of Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Member of the Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine and the Association of Ukrainian Writers, Honored Artist of Ukraine . Author of over 1000 publications on the history of Ukrainian, Russian and Western literature, general history, philosophy of history, the history of cinema and theater. One of the members of the initiative group “Pershogo Grudnya”.
Yevgen Sverstyuk – Ukrainian writer, philosopher, editor of the Orthodox newspaper “Nasha Vira”, Ph.D., author of one of the most important texts of Ukrainian samizdat. One of the members of the initiative group “Pershogo Grudnya”. Widely known for his publications on overcoming the Soviet legacy in the spiritual life. Yevgen Sverstyuk was awarded the Order of Liberty for outstanding achievements in affirming the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, courage and dedication in defending human rights and freedoms, fruitful literary and journalistic activities.
Watch video [icon icon=’Icomoon/icomoon-youtube-2′]
