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A. Tolstoukhov: Address to World Summit 2014
Written by Dr. Anatoly Tolstoukhov, Former Minister of Cabinet, Ukraine
Monday, August 11, 2014
Address to World Summit 2014, Seoul, Korea, August 9-13, 2014
I welcome the opportunity to participate in the World Summit representing Ukraine. In 2014, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian genius; the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War 1; and the 70th anniversary of Ukraine's liberation from Nazi invaders. But in our history and world history, this year will be remembered as the year of the War in the South-East, the war that shook deep not only Ukraine but the whole world.
From the point of view of the lessons of history, we have not heeded the call of Taras Shevchenko: "Let us embrace, my brothers, I pray you, beseech you!" We have neglected the covenant of the liberators of people, which is to protect world peace. We as a people have not been able to become one in establishing the sovereign Ukraine, so heavenly fortune has turned away from us, and we are facing a global tragedy.
The anti-state policy of President Viktor Yanukovych, the unconstitutional actions of the opposition, and the confrontation of centers and forces of the emerging new world order pushed Ukraine into a narrow passage between the choice of policy and election of authorities. In other words, revolution or civil war.
The international community was not ready to face such a turn of events, from guarantor states up to the systems of collective security. Meanwhile, as the events in Ukraine clearly demonstrate, a local conflict can shake the whole world. The Malaysian Boeing 777 air crash shocked the whole world.
There is every reason to assert that the war in Ukraine is not a typical war, in which the "Gordian knot" [a metaphor for an intractable problem] consists of entangled relationship problems of the past and the future, global and national, internal and external - between democracy and totalitarianism and between power and the people.
Unfortunately, the world possesses no effective means to address such wars or conflicts. The world itself is not perfect; it cannot perform miracles of humanism.
That is why the dialogue in Ukraine about peace, and in the world about Ukraine, is accompanied by a growing number of dead, wounded and refugees.
“As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen,” Sun Myung Moon believed that "world harmony will arise on the Korean peninsula." I believe that the new world harmony is arising in Ukraine. And if the Korean peninsula is the bearing of the axis of the world, Ukraine is one of the gears without which the world would not be able to rotate. The proof is its geographical location, its heroic and tragic history, and its eternal pursuit of independence.
Our and your histories have much in common, and this once again proves how important it is to develop and strengthen our relationships, as expressed in the words of Sun Myung Moon, "to foresee the future and prepare for it." If we imagine Ukraine to be a river flowing into the future, we should call to mind this simple truth: the river always has two banks. A river with one bank, be it tall and handsome, would quickly turn into a vast swamp. The civilizing mission of Ukraine consists in synthesizing European and Eurasian values for the benefit of humanity and the world. We have to make a long and arduous journey to seek Heavenly fortune, which we should then follow. I am convinced that together we will overcome all the trials that await us, after completing the way "from suffering and tears to peace and love."
For more information about the World Summit, click here.