Press Conferences in Sumy and Kiev at June 15, 2004

In Kiev, in the Center of National Renascence, the representatives of the students protesting again creation of Sumy National University (SNU) have conducted a press conference. The participants were students of Sumy State University (SumSU), Sumy State Pedagogical University, a head of department of SumSU and the head of the committee of mothers of Sumy. Among mass media, the representatives of TV channels "5th channel", "Novy", "ICTV", newspapers "Galytski Contracty", "Dzerkalo Tyzhnya", etc., were presented - in total, 14 organizations.

The representatives of resistance movement have declared the ultimatum to the President and Prime Minister of Ukraine. The ultimatum is as follows: if the Decrees of President and Ministry Cabinet concerning creation of SNU will not be abolished till the 1st of August, the protesting people will march afoot from Sumy to Kiev. In Kiev, the students, under support of people from other towns, will set up the tent camp and declare the start of the all-Ukrainian action of civil disobedience.

The journalists were most interested to know: how SNU will influence the life of students? The answer is destruction of scientific schools, control over the students during elections, degradation of level of education, because the new university is created without the project and analysis of consequences. This situation is described in the report of the working group of Verhovhaya Rada and Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The representatives of resistance movement have also rejected slanderous rumors that the protesting students in the tent camp at the center of Sumy are not from Sumy, are political provocateurs, hired strikers, drug addicts and miserable students of no academic success.

LIVE TV BROADCAST. SUMY

At June 14, a shooting group of the local private TV company "Vidicon" has visited the tent camp and suggested students to take part in the live TV broadcast devoted to the problem of creation of Sumy National University (SNU). Earlier, TV company "Vidicon" has conducted 3 live TV broadcasts and has never invited the participants of resistance movement. Students picketed the building of "Vidicon" and blamed the journalists for violation of journalist ethics, as the journalists of "Vidicon" each time really threw mud at the protesting students.
The students have agreed to phone to "Vidicon" before 14.00, June 15, and declared the names of two participants: Prof. Leonid Melnik, a head of department of SumSU, and Irina Merkun, the student rector of SumSU. (The position of student rector is occupied by a student. In SumSU, student rector is the head of student self-government and is elected by other students. Irina Merkun is a student of fifth year of study.)

However, when at 21.00 the representatives of resistance movement have appeared at "Vidicon", them were declared that only the following persons will take part in the live TV broadcast: Irina Merkun, a slender little girl, vs. two first vice-rectors of SNU, Ivaniy and Vasilyev. Concerning the request to let one student more to come in or to leave Irina tete-a-tete against Vasilyev, the general producer of "Vidicon" has made a rejection and explained that it is the right of private company to decide who will participate in the broadcast. Here is the limit of "Vidicon" - one our participant against two opponents! An operator of "Vidicon" shooted the discussion with a camera.

The students were forced to leave Irina in the studio alone. All the others were asked to leave the room. The central entrance to the TV Company was closed with armored doors.

Nevertheless, the arguments of first vice-rectors of SNU have appeared to be weak against the opinion of the student rector. Neither biased style of the presenter of live broadcast, constant attempts to interrupt Irina in her speech, nor psychological pressure, neglect of her words, did not prevented Irina from declaring her main idea: SNU is created not in the interests of students, but in the interests of officials. It is the opinion of the majority of teachers and students.

After finish of live broadcast, the inhabitants of neighboring buildings near "Vidicon" went outside, greeted Irina, saluted her from the balconies, named the representatives of SNU to be ridiculous and lying. The real column of people was formed and directed to the tent camp.

The students, teachers and parents, participants of the conflict at the "Vidicon", have composed a request to the committee of the freedom of speech to evaluate the situation from the position of journalist ethics.

July 10
The students and community of other towns proceed to support us. Thanks to everybody who is indifferent for our disaster. Odessa, Lutsk, Khmelnitsky, Uzhgorod. Thus, 9 towns have already supported our protest action. Stop the unleashed illegality! Tsarenko is not a rector! SNU is not an educational institution!

July 9
Secret visit of Yanukovich It was declared that Yanukovich will not come to Sumy, and suddenly, he meets in the evening with the full assembly hall of students and staff of SNAU. In the hall, only the people loyal for new authorities were gathered. The declarations made by Yanukovich and Tsarenko at this meeting have manifested explicitly that joining of the universities was organized exclusively due to the President s Elections, in order the authorities have the unlimited power to frighten the people.

July 6
today, the students of Kharkov, Rovno, Lviv, Lutsk and Kiev has supported us. Thank you, friends! At the Independence Square in Sumy, there were no people in the morning, though the Court has prohibited the picketing of the regional state administration due to arrangements related to reception of the relay of the Olympic Flame. The Olympic Flame has come, however, no arrangements at the Independence Square in Sumy have occurred. Once more, the authorities lie to our faces, more and more discrediting and disgracing themselves in our opinion.

July 5
This night, again the chemical attack upon our camp. This time, unknown guys threw the lamps and half-a-liter bottles with the same liquid from behind the fence. The bottles were aimed at the tents. Those that have not reached the aim were broken. The aggressive liquid was spilled at the cloth covering the tents and started to deteriorate it. Two persons were slightly injured. The liquid was spilled at the arm of a student, he has felt bad and was taken away to the hospital with the emergency car. As for another student, a bottle has stricken him to the head. Concerning this gangster assault, the criminal case was registered. However, there is no doubt, who is the leader of these scoundrels.
The protesters have declared about their intention to proceed the action. Their requirements are the dismissing of A.Tsarenko from the work in the SNU and acknowledgement of the status of juridical persons for the separate universities in the SNU.
The representatives of students and committee of mothers have departed to Kiev in order to meet Vladimir Litvin, the speaker of Verhovnaya Rada, or the vice-speaker. In Kiev, the students picketed the Ministry of Education and Science.

July 3
M. Stepko has demonstrated the decree of the Education Ministry. According to this decree, all the activity of the new authorities in SSU and SSPU (relocation of departments and services, abolition of faculties, firing and employment of staff) were ILLEGAL! In any case, during next two months, the university staff should submit to the Statutes of their universities. Don t comply with threats! Ask to demonstrate the document that confirms the orders. In other case, you may be found guilty of this illegal activity!

July 2
at night, unknown guys have posted along the central streets the leaflet containing slanderous information concerning students and teachers that protest against creation of SNU. In the morning, Vyacheslav Kirilenko and Lilia Hrigorovich, the deputies of Ukrainian Parliament, have visited the tent camp. V.Kirilenko has informed that he has submitted two official request concerning situation in Sumy and threats to the leaders of student resistance. V.Kirilenko has also said that today (i.e., at July 2) an open letter of Viktor Yuschenko is published, where the leader of the block Our Ukraine appeals to the President Kuchma to abolish the decree concerning creation of SNU.

At 14.00,
the members of commission created by Verhovnaya Rada for studying situation in Sumy have visited the tent camp. The members of commission are the deputy Mikhail Rodionov (Communist Party of Ukraine) and deputy minister of education and science Mikhail Stepko. The commission has started to compose report about the events in Sumy.
In spite of appeals of adult participants of the protest action, businessman Gennadiy Minaev (director of the company KIT ) and professor of SSU Leonid Melnik, the students have decided to proceed protest actions. The number of tents has reached 23.
As is become known, the tax administration has started the unscheduled inspection at the company KIT . The chief of the company considers that this inspection is directly caused by his participation in the protest action .
In the evening, a caustic oily liquid was spilled around the camp. The students have filled it up with sand and tried to deactivate by the acetic acid. About this event, the police and emergency control bodies were notified. The representatives of these structures have arrived to the site and taken the substance for the analysis. The stench of the liquid was felt at the camp during many hours. We saw the unleashed democracy of Tsarenko, we heard it in words, now we had the opportunity to smell it. It really stinks!

July 1
at night, unknown guys have broken the windows in the house of Irina Merkun, the student rector, in the Stepanovka village. The correspondent application was submitted to the law machinery. Some teachers of Sumy State Pedagogical University support protesting students. The students picket the TV-radio Company Vidikon disgraced by distribution of lying information concerning protesting students and their demands.

June 30
shooting groups of TV channels Novy , 1+1 and ICTV have visited the tent camp. The reports from Sumy have become of prime importance in the national news. The number of tents in the camp has reached 18.

June 29
A long meeting of teachers and students of SSU. Alexander Tsarenko, the acting rector, was present at the meeting. He has promised that excessive outrage will not occur any more and engaged himself to fire the vice-rector who was guilty. Most of teachers express themselves against SNU and support the protesting students.

June 28
About one thousands of citizens of Sumy took part at the meeting of protest against joining up of Sumy Universities that took place at the Shevchenko Square. After finish of meeting, the participants of the action have started to set up the tent camp. They have claimed the citizens of Sumy to come to the tent camp, to support the demands of students and teachers. Details

June 27 - In the evening, A.Vasilyev, the former vice-rector and now the temporary rector of SSU, has collected the teachers, declared them the decision of the Court, and asked to prevent appearance of students at the meeting. He gives orders to the deans of faculties to call to parents of students, and at the morning, to set the teachers at the approaches to the Independence Square.

June 26 - Alexander Tsarenko, the rector of SNU, has visited SSU. Among others, he has met representatives of protesting students. Tsarenko has said that 200 hours of forced labor and dismounting of the Emblem from the Building of SSU was not his initiative, and he will punish his people who were guilty. The rector of SNU has also expressed his willing that students should refuse to organize the meeting planned at the June 28. The same day, the Court of Sumy has prohibited to conduct the meeting, having satisfied a claim of Sumy authorities.

June 25
soon after midday, a car equipped with a hoisting crane has approached the Central Building of Sumy State University (SSU), and unknown workers start to dismount the signboard "Sumy State University", as well as the National Emblem of Ukraine. At 16.00, above 400 lecturers and collaborators of SSU, together with students, have gathered in the assembly hall. The alarmed lecturers create the organizational committee on the basis of trade union, which is to be converted, if necessary, to the strike committee. The representatives of students declare about their intention to organize the meeting of protest and put up the tents at June, 28, at the Independence Square (the central square of Sumy). The teachers support students and promise to come to the square.

At the same time, in the assembly hall of the former Sumy Pedagogical State University, a concert devoted to joining of Sumy universities into SNU has occurred. In the concert, the collectives of each of three universities took part, as well as the authorities of SNU, including A.Tsarenko, who has come accompanied by guests from Poland. When it was the turn of the former Sumy National Agricultural University (SNAU), the students of SSU, clothed in black, have stalked out of the meeting. Each of them has thrown down two carnations, like at the funeral ceremony, grieving over the perished Sumy Sate University. At the exit of the assembly hall, some skirmish with university guards has occurred (the guards tried to keep the intractable students inside). Then, these several hundred students have walked to the center of the town, claiming protests against joining of universities. The column has followed along the Sobornaya street (the central street of Sumy) and has stopped near the building of Sumy Regional Administration. After half-an-hour-meeting, the students have dispersed.

June 23 and 24
the lecturers and collaborators of liquidated universities are informed that in two months each of them will be fired due to liquidation. The old door-plates are taken away from the doors. The collaborators of Agricultural University appear and begin to give orders. The students are informed that now they should work during summer labor practice at land improvement 200 hours instead of 40. Most of students have refused to fulfil these requirements. Some faculties and departments are informed to be relocated.

June 22
In the building of Sumy Regional Administration, the ceremony of introduction of the new rector occurs. The participants are Vladimir Scherban, the governor of Sumy Region, Mikhail Stepko, the vice-minister of education, and representatives of each of three universities. The acting rector A. Tsarenko proposes to vote for the temporary statute of SNU, in order the Sumy State University could start to work. Some professors say that they are not empowered to vote by their colleagues. Besides, nobody has seen the temporary statute of SNU. One of professors has voted against the document. The rector Tsarenko has plainly hinted him that he will hardly be engaged to work in the new university. Under pressure of Tsarenko and Scherban, the document is accepted. Most of professors were feared to refuse their jobs. The citation of Tsarenko at that meeting: "When these people will not vote for the document, we will bring other people, who will vote".

June 21
Vasiliy Kremin, the minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, has appointed Alexander Tsarenko, the deputy of Verhovnaya Rada (i.e., Ukrainian Parliament), to become the acting rector of SNU (though, according to Ukrainian laws, a deputy of Verhovnaya Rada can not simultaneously occupy another position).

June 17
Viktor Yanukovich, the prime minister of Ukraine, has signed a decree concerning creation of the SNU on the basis of three universities, which are to be liquidated.

April 20
Leonid Kuchma, the president of Ukraine, has signed a decree concerning creation of Sumy National University (SNU) on the basis of three Sumy Universities (though such resolution can be made only by the Ministry Cabinet).