be friends, if we are honest to the end. We are currently living in a
commonwealth, the root of the word is found in the word "druh,"
friend... We will never become true friends, until we journalists
understand that we are the ones who can, who have the responsibility to
stop our peoples from total degradation, from the catastrophe that can
occur between our peoples," he said. "If we cannot prevent this we stop
being journalists. We will become persons who today do their work and
tomorrow, one by one, are destroyed."
Vadim's deep sense of responsibility, his courage and commitment to the
truth will always be admired by his friends and colleagues. And we are
all committed to learning the truth.
Given the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, I can only
hope that his last interview prophecy did not become self-fulfilling.
Mr. Safer, you travelled to Ukraine looking for stories of persecution and violence
against Jews and Russians, you failed to find the evidence, but you broadcast the story
anyway. All the while, you were surrounded by stories of persecution and violence
against Ukrainians, but that plentiful evidence you ignored. In other words, you went
to Ukraine not to discover its reality, but to confirm your prejudice. You played the
role not of journalist, but of propagandist. Given the opportunity to make a
contribution toward protecting the lives of journalists in Ukraine by broadcasting the
story of Vadim Boyko, you declined. Showing anything on 60 Minutes that might win
sympathy for Ukrainians was contrary to your plan.
Had you managed to find a Jewish member of parliament and television broadcaster who had
died in Ukraine under mysterious circumstances, then you would have had one small piece
of evidence for the anti-Ukrainian conclusions that you offered. Had you managed to
find a Russian member of parliament and television broadcaster who had died in Ukraine
under mysterious circumstances, then you would have had one small piece of evidence for
the anti-Ukrainian conclusions that you offered. However, you found neither of these
things. In Ukraine, death under mysterious circumstances is reserved for prominent
Ukrainians, which conclusion you had no interest in broadcasting.
Below, I identify four incidents which I have brought to your attention either in three
earlier letters, or in the present one. Although the first two cases occurred before
your broadcast of 23Oct94, and the second two occurred after, all serve to support the
conclusion that within today's Ukraine, it is Ukrainians who are the targets of
violence:
Date of my letter
Subject of my letter
Date of Attack
Violence that you should have reported in your 23Oct94 The Ugly Face of Freedom
15May99
Who murdered Volodymyr Ivasiuk?
April 1979
30Jun99
Who murdered Vadim Boyko?
February 14, 1992
Violence that you might have caused by your 23Oct94 The Ugly Face of Freedom
09Apr99
Who blew the hands off Maksym Tsarenko?
Summer 1995