[Ohio UZO News] Fwd: Ukrainian Holodomor Resolution Passes in U.S. Congress

Wed Sep 24 12:37:47 EDT 2008

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Sawkiw <unis.sawkiw at comcast.net>
Date: 2008/9/24
Subject: Ukrainian Holodomor Resolution Passes in U.S. Congress
To: UCCA <ucca at ucca.org>, UNIS <unis at ucca.org>

**
 **

 **

*UKRAINIAN HOLODOMOR RESOLUTION*

**

*H.Res. 1314*

*passed by U.S. House of Representatives*

*Tuesday, September 23, 2008*

Attached:  statement by Rep. Sander Levin (sponsor of the resolution):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Whereas in 1932 and 1933, an estimated seven to 10 million Ukrainian people
perished at the will of the totalitarian Stalinist government of the former
Soviet Union, which perpetrated... (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by
House)
*

HRES 1314 EH

* H. Res. 1314*

* In the House of Representatives, U. S.,*

* September 23, 2008.*

Whereas in 1932 and 1933, an estimated seven to 10 million Ukrainian people
perished at the will of the totalitarian Stalinist government of the former
Soviet Union, which perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine in an
effort to break the nation's resistance to collectivization and communist
occupation;

Whereas the Soviet Government deliberately confiscated grain harvests and
starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children by a policy of forced
collectivization that sought to destroy the nationally conscious movement
for independence;

Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of Ukraine sealed
to prevent anyone from escaping the man-made starvation and preventing any
international food aid that would provide relief to the starving;

Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to uncover the scale of the
famine, including Canadian wheat expert Andrew Cairns who visited Ukraine in
1932 and was told that there was no grain `because the government had
collected so much grain and exported it to England and Italy,' while
simultaneously denying food aid to the people of Ukraine;

Whereas nearly a quarter of the rural population of Ukraine was eliminated
due to forced starvation, while the entire nation suffered from the
consequences of the prolonged lack of food;

Whereas the Soviet Government manipulated and censored foreign journalists,
including New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, who knowingly denied
not only the scope and magnitude, but also the existence, of a deadly
man-made famine in his reports from Ukraine;

Whereas noted correspondents of the time were castigated by the Soviet Union
for their accuracy and courage in depicting and reporting the famine in
Ukraine, including Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm
Muggeridge, who wrote, `[The farmers] will tell you that many have already
died of famine and that many are dying every day; that thousands have been
shot by the government and hundreds of thousands exiled';

Whereas in May 1934, former Congressman Hamilton Fish introduced a
resolution in the House of Representatives (House Resolution 399 of the 73d
Congress) which called for the condemnation of the Soviet Government for its
acts of destruction against the Ukrainian people;

Whereas the United States Commission on the Ukraine Famine, formed on
December 13, 1985, conducted a study with the goal of expanding the world's
knowledge and understanding of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, and
concluded that the victims were `starved to death in a man-made famine' and
that `Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against
Ukrainians in 1932-1933';

Whereas on May 15, 2003, in a special session, the Ukrainian Parliament
acknowledged that the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) was engineered by Joseph
Stalin and the Soviet Government deliberately against the Ukrainian nation
and called upon international recognition of the Holodomor;

Whereas with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival documents became
available that confirmed the deliberate and pre-meditated deadly nature of
the famine, and that exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet
Government against the Ukrainian people; and

Whereas on October 13, 2006, the President of the United States signed into
law Public Law 109-340 that authorized the Government of Ukraine `to
establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor
the victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933,' in recognition
of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the tragedy in 2008: Now, therefore, be
it

   *Resolved,* That the House of Representatives--

   (1) solemnly remembers the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine
      (Holodomor) of 1932-1933 and extends its deepest sympathies to
the victims,
      survivors, and families of this tragedy;

   (2) condemns the systematic violations of human rights, including the
      freedom of self-determination and freedom of speech, of the
Ukrainian people
      by the Soviet Government;

   (3) encourages dissemination of information regarding the Ukrainian
      Famine (Holodomor) in order to expand the world's knowledge of
this man-made
      tragedy; and

   (4) supports the continuing efforts of Ukraine to work toward ensuring
      democratic principles, a free-market economy, and full respect for human
      rights, in order to enable Ukraine to achieve its potential as
an important
      strategic partner of the United States in that region of the world.

Attest:

Clerk.

** <http://obama.senate.gov/press/080303-obama_statement_128/>
 <http://obama.senate.gov/press/080303-obama_statement_128/>

* *

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Sawkiw, Jr.
President
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America*
**

*New York, NY Office:
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
203 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003
tel:  (212) 228-6840
fax:  (212) 254-4721
e-mail:  **ucca at ucca.org* <ucca at ucca.org>
**
*Washington, DC Office:
Ukrainian National Information Service
311 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
tel:  (202) 547-0018
fax:  (202) 543-5502
e-mail:  **unis at ucca.org* <unis at ucca.org>
**

*Visit us on the web at:  **http://www.ucca.org* <http://www.ucca.org>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://clevelanduzo.org/pipermail/uzonews_clevelanduzo.org/attachments/20080924/4a4fc8f3/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 60900 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://clevelanduzo.org/pipermail/uzonews_clevelanduzo.org/attachments/20080924/4a4fc8f3/attachment.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 38215 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://clevelanduzo.org/pipermail/uzonews_clevelanduzo.org/attachments/20080924/4a4fc8f3/attachment-0001.jpe 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Levin Resolution Floor Statement[1].doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 20480 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://clevelanduzo.org/pipermail/uzonews_clevelanduzo.org/attachments/20080924/4a4fc8f3/attachment.doc 