November 28, 2004
At its extended emergency meeting of 24 November 2004 the Council of Rectors of the Higher Educational Establishments of Lviv Region unanimously recognized Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko President of Ukraine.
We feel it our sacred duty to voice our deep anxiety and indignation over pernicious and despicable fraud at the presidential elections in Ukraine. We express our condemnation to the tricks of the authorities who have encouraged and masterminded this fraud. The entire election campaign launched by the camp of the
authorities’ favourite Viktor Yanukovich was aimed at ruining all the moral values of our younger generation, the values moulded in the course of centuries by the Ukrainian tradition, culture and education.
We are appealing to you as peoples’ deputies at this critical moment in Ukrainian history to rise in defense of the constitutional rights of the Ukrainian people protecting their own choice.
Both you and we remained silent and mute when state-controlled TV channels imposed upon this country an utterly artificial divide between East and West, when they were provoking civil strife and by broadcasting brainwashing clips moulded the image of an enemy even resorting to Nazi symbols. Sadly, we also kept silent when some of the rectors of higher educational establishments flagrantly violated academic freedom and constitutional rights of Ukrainian students encroaching upon their dignity and right to choose. By this we shared the guilt of contributing to the dangerous tendencies of imposing authoritarian methods in education and to arranging wrong relationships between the government, society and the Ukrainian universities. We also kept silent when our students in the city of Sumy were unlawfully attacked by police. This deplorable practice of maltreating students by calling them terrorists and criminals spread throughout our land. Nowhere in the world, in compliance with the Lima Declaration of Academic Freedoms and University Autonomy, police have anything to do with academic life of universities.
Now you continue to keep silent when the armed forces of a foreign country are aiming machineguns muzzles and bayonets at the faces and hearts of our young compatriots.
Highly esteemed peoples deputies! The time has come to draw a line between truth and fraud, between liberty and authoritarianism, between strict and dignified abidance by the commonly shared humane values and their ruthless annihilation.
We call upon you to make a proper choice and not to place disgrace upon yourselves by betraying our national ideals and traditions of Ukrainian statehood. You must say a resounding “NO!” to shameless lies, violence, rigging, inflaming animosity and artificial divide of our society! The Ukrainian people demand justice and truth. It is your sacred duty to support them.
Head of the Council of Rectors
of Lviv Region Higher Educational Establishments
Rector of the Ivan Franko National University in Lviv
Ivan Oleksandovych Vakarchuk
Rector of the National University
of “Lvivska Politekhnika”
Deputy Head
Yuriy Kyrylovych Rudavskyi
Rector of Lviv Academy of Commerce
Yakiv Andriyovych Honcharuk
Rector of Lviv National Academy
of Veterinary Medicine named After S.Hrzytsky
Roman Yosypovych Kravtsiv
Rector of Lviv Agrarian University
Volodymyr Vasylyovych Snitynskyi
Acting Rector of Lviv Academy of Arts
Ihor Vasylyovych Holod
Rector of Lviv State Institute
of Physical Culture
Myroslav Stepanovych Hertsyk
Rector of the Ukrainian State Forestry University
Yuriy Yuriyovych Tunytsya
Rector of Drohobych State University
named after Ivan Franko
Valeriy Hryhorovych Skotnyi
Rector of Lviv Institute of Banking
Tamara Stepanivna Smovzhenko
Rector of Lviv State Institute
of Economy and Touirism
Ihor Omelyanovych Bochan
Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Rev. Borys Hudziak
Head of the Council
of Directors of Educational Establishments
of the 2nd and 3rd grade of accreditation
Petro Yuriyovych Lazur
Head of the Main Administration
of Education and Science of Lviv
Regional State Administration
Mykhaylo Hryhorovych Brehin
Head of the Lviv Regional Council
of the Trade Union
of Educators and Research Workers
Mariya Hryhorivna Yatseyko
Rector of Lviv Divinity Seminary
Rev. Bohdam Prakh
Rector of Lviv Regional Institute
of State Management at The Ukrainian President
Anatoliy Oleksiyovych Chemerys
Rector of Lviv Institute of Management
Petro Stepanovych Yanytskyi
Rector of the Western Ukrainian Institute
of Information Technologies
and Management
at the Donetsk Regional Institute of Management
Vasyl Mykhaylovych Kohut
Head of the Association of Heads of Trade Unions
at the Lviv Region Higher Educational Establishments
Yuriy Pavlovych Rak
Head of the Trade Union
of the National University
“Lvivska Politekhnika”
Volodymyr Hryhorovych Hajduk
Head of the Trade Union
of the Ivan Franko National University in Lviv
Stepan Konstyantynovych Hordiy
Secretary of the Council of Rectors
of Higher Educational Establishments of Lviv Region
Lesya Oleksiyivna Bartish
25 November 2004