The OUN has announced the possibility of reburying Petliura and Bandera in Ukraine
The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists announced that it is considering the issue of reburying Symon Petliura and Stepan Bandera in Ukraine.
Bogdan Chervak, head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, spoke about this in a comment to hromadske.
According to him, there is political will for Stepan Bandera, one of the OUN leaders, to be buried in the pantheon of heroes, where Andriy Melnyk—the leader of the other wing of the OUN—will be reburied tomorrow.
“It will be very symbolic when two leaders who could not find common ground during World War II are buried in the Pantheon of Heroes, and this will be an act of reconciliation among Ukrainians, an act of unity. As far as I know, Stepan Bandera’s grave is being cared for by his relatives, so we need to obtain consent from the relatives in order to begin the legal procedure for exhumation and reburial. Work in this direction is underway, and I think it will be successful,” Chervak noted.
He also mentioned that the Ukrainian Riflemen’s Association of Canada, which had been caring for Yevhen Konovalets’ grave in Rotterdam, has granted permission to the Ukrainian authorities for the reburial, so legal procedures related to the exhumation and transfer of Colonel Konovalets to Ukraine are currently underway.
“Efforts are also underway to have Simon Petliura—one of the leaders of the Ukrainian People’s Republic—reburied in Ukraine. Ultimately, Ivan Mazepa must be reburied in Ukraine. The country has many distinguished figures whose graves are in foreign lands. Our fundamental position must be that all of them must be returned to Ukraine. Perhaps not all of them will be in the Pantheon, but all of them must be on their native soil,” said the OUN leader.
Read also:
The ashes of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk and his wife were transferred to Ukraine
Photo: A funeral service for OUN leader Andriy Melnyk was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral
