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Statement of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
On the Pulitzer Prize Board's Decision Not to Revoke Walter Duranty's Prize
Washington, D.C., December 1, 2003
On Friday, November 21, 2003, the Pulitzer Prize Board decided not to revoke
the Pulitzer Prize received by The New York Times correspondent Walter
Duranty for a series of reports from the Soviet Union regarding the
Five-Year Plan, which The New York Times published in 1931. As the largest
Ukrainian representative organization in the United States, the Ukrainian
Congress Committee of America is affronted by the decision of the Pulitzer
Prize Board, which not only sullies the current Pulitzer Prize Board
members, but also diminishes the honor of those who have received this
prestigious award.
The UCCA conducted a yearlong campaign to prove to the Pulitzer Prize Board
and The New York Times that Duranty was deliberately fraudulent in his
articles as attested by Duranty himself in 1931, whereby admitting that in
an agreement between Soviet authorities and The New York Times, "his
official dispatches always reflect the official opinion of the Soviet regime
and not his own." In our opinion, the evidence provided to the Pulitzer
Committee and The New York Times verifying Duranty's fabrications were
clear and more than sufficient to revoke the prize.
In fact, since the Pulitzer Prize is renowned for upholding a standard of
excellence in journalism, the Pulitzer Prize Board falls short of its
commitments to journalistic integrity and ethics when it surmises that
Duranty's articles "fall seriously short" of standards used in journalism
today. The lives of as many as 10 million Ukrainians and Duranty's own
admission of knowledge about the Famine-Genocide in private conversations
with British diplomats are enough of a reason to revoke the Pulitzer Prize
awarded to an immoral journalist who not only denied the existence of the
Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, but maligned those who had the courage to
speak out against the Stalinist government and inform the world of its
unfathomable crimes.
The UCCA plans to actively continue the campaign to revoke Duranty's
Pulitzer Prize. We will continue to inform the American people about the
despicable cruelty with which Stalin murdered the Ukrainian people and
attempted to cover up the atrocities, with Duranty's and The New York Times'
compliance. To honor the memory of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide victims,
we will not stop until the truth is recognized and Duranty's Pulitzer Prize
is revoked. We will continue our work to expose the double standards
employed by both the Pulitzer Prize Board and The New York Times and
strive to clear the name of the prestigious award, which is presently marred
by its association with Duranty.
We urge the Pulitzer Prize Board not to compromise its own integrity and
review its journalistic ethical standards, for it was the Prize's founder,
Joseph Pulitzer, who coveted journalism in the "highest moral and
intellectual" standards. Furthermore, we urge The New York Times to root
out its culture of deception, which has extended from Duranty's 1931
writings to Jayson Blair's 2003 reports. We urge all Ukrainians in the
United States to actively continue the campaign against the Pulitzer Prize
Board and The New York Times. It is our collective duty to correct this
historical injustice and honor the memory of the Famine-Genocide victims by
disallowing the Pulitzer Prize Board and The New York Times to include
Walter Duranty among its honored.
On behalf of the Executive Board of the UCCA,
Michael Sawkiw, Jr., President
Marie Duplak, Executive Secretary
December 1, 2003
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