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Appeal of soldiers’ mothers of Ukraine to the President of Ukraine, the Supreme Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine

22.12.2003   

Respected President, MPs and Ministers!

We are turning to you again in the connection with the problem of legal and social protection of the mothers, whose sons perished or died during the military service.

These boys were mobilized by state to the armed forces being young and healthy, but, unfortunately, it appeared to be impossible to preserve their lives.

In 1991-1992 the laws were adopted, which, at last, stated that the parents of the servicemen, who had perished or died during the military service, had to obtain the compensation from the state in the form of the increase of pension for 24 hryvnas, 50% reduction of payments for living accommodation and communal services, decrease of taxes, etc. All this was called, as usual, privileges, but really this is only a scanty compensation to the parents, who lost their son – the potential helper and breadwinner in their old age.

In the USA the life of a servicemen is insured with the sum equal to 350,000 USD; in Russia the parents get the doubled pension, must not pay taxes, they also have privileges in payments for communal services, use of public transport and many others. And in Ukraine the parents of the perished soldiers suffer indignity from the officials, that is from you!

Local military commissariats even do not give the parents the certificates reading that their son perished in the army: allegedly, there are no forms of these certificates. I do not believe that Ukraine is not able to provide the parents with these documents. The military commissariats must give such certificates together with the coffins of dead boys and with the words: «Forgive us, mother! We took your son to the army, but, unfortunately, we could not preserve his life. So, here is the certificate, and the State will care of you now».

Respected President!

Two years ago, during the meeting with soldiers’ mothers in the settlement of Goncharivsk, the Chernigiv oblast, you said to us: «I am bowing before you, mothers, before your courage, before your kindness! I am promising that the State will care for you, I will control this personally!» And what are the results? The mothers are deprived even of these paltry privileges, which they have had! Recently the new instruction on taxes has been issued, and this instruction reminds that this category has the privileges in paying taxes.

Respected MPs!

Three years ago, when you adopted the Law on budget, you deprived the parents of perished servicemen of the privileges in paying for living accommodations and communal services, these privileges were not mentioned separately in Article 58. One year later these privileges were renewed, but local officials ignored this renewal, since, they said, there were no orders about that.

We know that the authors of the draft of the Law about the budget for the next year forgot about the parents of the perished soldiers again. You are promising to render the privileges to the handicapped and WW2 veterans, and this is correct. Yet, although these mothers have hands and feet, they also have the bleeding wound instead of heart, the painful and incurable wound. Nothing can replace the son for a mother, since son’s life is priceless! The privileges that were stipulated in the Ukrainian laws were rather a moral support, not a material one. And now you want to forsake the parents alone with their disaster!

Respected Ministers!

We know about the difficult economic situation in Ukraine, but we want to say: the craped mothers will not save the Ukrainian budget! The budget would not grow substantially, if the mothers would now pay taxes and full sums for communal services and small flats.

So, we are turning to you with the appeals:

Respected President!

Please, redeem your promise to «control personally the state care for the parents of the perished soldiers».

Respected MPs!

Include, please the separate line into the Law on budget, which will envisage the privileges for the parents of the perished servicemen, and do not forget about these privileges when adopting the laws on budget and other laws on social and legal protection of citizens! We know from our own grief experience: if you would replace the privileges with the individual aid, then the privileges would be liquidated at once, and the mothers would not live to get the individual aid…

Respected Ministers!

Do not be afraid that the mothers will bring Ukraine to financial ruin, if they would have some social protection. Fortunately, the number of such mothers is not too great, 200-300 persons in every oblast. And do not entrust the regional authorities to realize this financial aid, since that would mean that mothers would obtain nothing again… Explain, please, to these local officials that the dead boys will not return to life, so there is no need to demand every year the numerous certificates that a mother is still alive and her son is still lying in the grave…

Respected sirs!

Despite the fact that it is impossible to bear the humiliations and sufferings inflicted to the mothers both by our legislation and the local authorities, we hope that you will consider our entreaty, and these painful questions will solved once and for all.

The appeal was adopted on 12 September 2003 at the sitting of the Coordination Council of the Organization of Soldiers’ Mothers of Ukraine.

Our contact addresses and phone numbers:

Taisiya Shkrium

Dnepropetrovsk branch of the OSMU

4, Shcherban St.

49064, Dnepropetrovsk

Phones/fax: (0562) 68-52-02, 31-83-51

Maria Shutaliova

Kharkov oblast union of soldiers’ mothers

POB10397

61002, Kharkov

Phone: (0572) 14-31-71

E-mail: [email protected]

The appeal was signed by:

1. Taisiya Shkrium, a deputy of the head of the Organization of Soldiers’ Mothers of Ukraine, Dnepropetrovsk

2. Nina Lysogor, a deputy of the head of the OSMU, the head of the OSM of Dneprodzerzhinsk

3. Irina Bakliukova, the head of the Dnepropetrovsk oblast branch of the OSMU, Dnepropetrovsk

4 Maria Shutaliova, a co-chairman of the Kharkov oblast union of soldiers’ mothers, Kharkov

5. Maya Kriukova, a member of the Board of the KhOUSM, Kharkov

6. Ludmila Onolova, a deputy of the head of the Kirovograd oblast organization of soldiers’ mothers, Kirovograd

7. Ludmila Bykova, a co-chairman of the KhOUSM, Kharkov.

8. Svetlana Kasyan, the head of the Cherkassy oblast committee of soldiers’ mothers, Cherkassy

9. Stalina Solovey, the head of the Chernigiv oblast organization of soldiers’ mothers, Chernigiv

10. Larisa Kozhar, a deputy of the head of the Chernigiv town organization of soldiers’ mothers, Chernigiv

11. Evgeniya Gladunova, a member of the organizational committee of the Rivne town organization of soldiers’ mothers, Rivne

12. Larisa Simonovich, a member of the organizational committee of the Rivne town OSM, Rivne

13. Raisa Kladko, the OSM, Rivne

14. Lydia Bulavchuk, the head of the district organization of soldiers’ mothers, Kalush

15. Lesia Kirilovich, a deputy of the head of the OSM, Kalush

16. Darya Shchesiuk, the head of the Lviv oblast union of soldiers’ mothers, Lviv

17. Galina Pologrudova, a deputy of the head of the Sevastopol OSM, Sevastopol

18. Lydia Zagaynova, the OSM, Sevastopol

19. Valentina Danilenko, the OSM, Donetsk

20. Olga Moroz, the OSM, Donetsk

21. Lydia Rybalko, the OSMU, Zaporozhye

22.Olga Bezkorovayna, the OSMU, Kherson

23. Galina Litvin, the OSMU, Odessa


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