24 July 2014
His Excellency Tony Abbott
Prime Minister of Australia
G20 President
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
Dear Prime Minister:
Re: Urgent action regarding Russia-backed terrorism
On behalf of the Ukrainian World Congress and the Ukrainian diaspora, please accept our condolences following the tragic deaths of some 30 Australian citizens and residents on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. It is an unspeakable loss for your nation.
We acknowledge and commend the leadership position taken by yourself, your Minister for Foreign
Affairs Julie Bishop, and your Government in response to the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight
MH17, including initiating and steering the UN Security Council resolution of 21 July 2014. The clarity
and strength of your position has guided the international community’s response, and is in part a fitting
tribute to those who perished during this horrific act of terrorism.
In light of the above, the Ukrainian World Congress hereby seeks your further action as G20 President. As you know, over the past months, the international community has witnessed Russia’s brazen violations of international law with its:
- illegal annexation of Crimea;
- persistent support of violent terrorist activities in Eastern Ukraine; and
- assistance for the shootdown of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 and subsequent obstruction at gunpoint of the investigation at the crash site.
The downing of a passenger airliner that killed 298 people from various countries should be a chilling
warning to the international community of the consequences of tolerating Russia-backed terrorism
and unabashed violations of the territorial integrity of an independent country.
Therefore, the Ukrainian World Congress urges you, as the current G20 President, to take the necessary measures to end President Vladimir Putin’s reign of terror that is threatening the world by calling on the G20 Leaders to immediately:
- impose targeted sector-specific sanctions (third level sanctions) against Russia;
- provide military aid to Ukraine in order to remove the menace to the international community posed by Russia-backed terrorists in Eastern Ukraine;
- deny Russia’s President Vladimir Putin the privilege of participating in the upcoming G20 Leaders Summit on 15 and 16 November 2014 in Brisbane, Queensland; and
- invite Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to attend the G20 Leaders Summit in Australia.
If the G20 Leaders do not act promptly and decisively, Russia will be emboldened to further threaten peace and security, not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world, bringing even more suffering and death of innocent people.
Sincerely,
UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS
Eugene Czolij
President
c.c. Her Excellency Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina
Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil
His Excellency Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China
His Excellency François Hollande, President of France
Her Excellency Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
His Excellency Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia
His Excellency Joko Widodo, President-elect of Indonesia
His Excellency Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy
His Excellency Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
His Excellency Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico
His Majesty Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, King of Saudi Arabia
His Excellency Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
Her Excellency Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea
His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey
His Excellency David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
His Excellency Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
His Excellency Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council
His Excellency José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
His Excellency Jean-Claude Juncker, President-elect of the European Commission
His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine
Mr. Stefan Romaniw, Chairman of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations
145 Evans Avenue, Suite 207, Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5X8 Canada
Tel: 416.323.3020 Fax: 416.323.3250 E-mail: congress@look.ca
Skype: ukrainian.world.congress Website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org
The Ukrainian World congress (UWC) is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 33 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967,the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status.
