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Greenleaf Resolution Urges State Ties to Ukraine
HARRISBURG -- The
Senate unanimously approved a resolution offered by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf,
R-Montgomery/Bucks, to encourage the Governor and the Department of Community
and Economic Development to establish relations with the nation of Ukraine for
the purposes of cultural, educational, and economic exchange.
Greenleaf noted that Ukraine
President Viktor Yushchenko will be coming to Philadelphia in September to
receive this year’s Philadelphia Liberty Medal in recognition of his courage in
overcoming tremendous obstacles to take the office to which he was elected by
the people of Ukraine. “As a champion of liberty and a symbol of democracy,
President Yushchenko already has a kinship with the city known as the cradle of
liberty in the United States,” Greenleaf said.
The senator noted that
Pennsylvania is second among all the states in the number of citizens of
Ukrainian descent and that the state is the site of the Ukrainian Heritage
Studies Center at Manor Junior College in Jenkintown, the Ukrainian Educational
and Cultural Center in Philadelphia, and the Ukrainian American Sport Center
Tryzub in Horsham Township, Montgomery County.
Greenleaf pointed to the
important role people of Ukrainian descent played in the coal and steel
industries of Pennsylvania. He said that Ukraine and Pennsylvania have in
common fertile farmland, mineral resources, and metal industries, and that their
people share the values of freedom and independence. In remarks on the Senate
floor, Greenleaf referenced the Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, in which Ukrainians
took to the streets to demand that Yushchenko take office as their duly elected
leader following an election -- widely viewed as rigged -- that resulted in the
elevation to the presidency of Yushchenko’s Russian-backed opponent. The
overwhelming citizen pressure and resultant world opinion in favor of the Orange
Revolution led to a second election in which Yushchenko, while suffering the
effects of a suspicious poisoning, was certified as the peoples’ choice for
president.
Greenleaf said that Senate
Resolution 142 encourages the state to undertake trade missions, student and
faculty exchanges, and a mutually-beneficial cultural and tourism relationship
with Ukraine. He introduced the resolution at the prompting of a constituent of
Ukrainian heritage.
The senator said that
Pennsylvania in 2004 exported over $10 million in machinery and transportation
equipment to Ukraine, the second largest nation in Europe.
“The basis for close ties
between the commonwealth and Ukraine already exists, and I believe that we
should take this opportunity to establish a formal link,” Greenleaf said.
The resolution will be
transmitted to the Governor and to the Secretary of the Department of Community
and Economic Development. Greenleaf said he plans to send personal letters as
well to Governor Rendell and Secretary Yablonsky, asking their consideration of
the resolution.
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