« »

Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko’s Speech at an Informational Event for the Diplomatic Corps on the Manmade Famine of 1932-1933

Dear friends,

I am happy to see you in this hall. I would like to thank everyone who has come to today’s event. The issue we are discussing today is very significant for Ukraine and for the world community.

75 years ago a horrible tragedy took place on our land.  Millions of Ukrainians were murdered in a famine which was intentionally organized by Stalin’s regime.

All food was confiscated, people were denied all means of existence and survival. Starving regions of Ukraine and the Kuban were surrounded by armed forces, the borders of Ukraine were closed so that no one could escape and so no assistance could enter. This was a true war of the communist regime against the Ukrainian nation; a terror famine was the chief weapon.

Most experts confirm that more than 7.5 million people died during the Holodomor. Some use even higher figures.  But all researchers agree that millions were murdered during this 1930s crime.

Imagine this figure – it is the population of an entire country that ceased its existence in less than a year... Each Ukrainian family lost relatives, loved ones, friends.

We intentionally chose the wonderful Ivan Honchar Museum to hold this event, so that you could see the faces of those people, who were physically annihilated, the rich and unique culture that they tried to destroy.

The truth about this crime, its extent and its reasons were hidden for more than 50 years from people, and from the world community. During Soviet times, even mention of the Holodomor could mean being put behind bars.

But the Ukrainian people preserved their historical memory. Only after the declaration of our independence did we have the opportunity to appropriately honor the victims of the Holodomor.

In thousands of cities and villages throughout Ukraine memorials were created. Every month there more are established.

Experts have researched a huge amount of information. We are constantly opening up and making public new facts that prove that the Holodomor was part of a criminal policy of the Soviet leadership to destroy the Ukrainian nation. Thanks to a great deal of research and educational work over the last five years, attitudes in Ukraine toward the Holodomor have change significantly.

When the Verhovna Rada in 2006 approved a law recognizing the Holodomor as an act of genocide, more than 70% of the population of Ukraine supported the decision. This was a very positive signal, since despite regional, language and political differences, the Ukrainian people reached an internal consensus. East, west, south and north united together around a common emotion of pain.

Today we wish once again to address the world community.

Ukraine survived a tragedy of world proportions. We have looked it in the eyes and have made conclusions. The Bible says “Know the truth and the truth will set you free.” We hope that our knowledge will help humanity to avoid similar tragedy in the future. We do not want the Holodomor to ever be repeated anywhere in any form.

To achieve this, it is necessary that the world learns the truth about the Holodomor, and that it recognizes it as an act of genocide.

I am certain that if the world community reacted adequately to the Holodomor 75 years ago, humanity would have been able to avoid this catastrophe that took the lives of tens of millions of people on various continents.

The Ukraine 3000 Foundation has been working on the issue of the Famine since 2003. We initiated today’s meeting and invited our colleagues who have done a great deal to learn the truth about the Holodomor.  I hope that today’s presentations will help you to know more about the events of 1932-33 and make your own conclusions.

For me, this is rather personal, since both my parents have survived in the Holodomor. They have survived, but they have lost their families, friends, and fellow villagers. They told me a lot about their experience. My father was born in Kharkiv oblast, and mother – in Kyiv oblast. They told me about their villages being desolated, people driving along in carriages to collect the dead. Sometimes, if a man was still alive but going to die in the next few days, they would suggest to take him with them at once, because they weren’t coming back for another week or so.

Almost every Ukrainian has heard similar stories from his or her parents. I remember all these years when I was afraid to speak about this. I am glad that now we can speak about this, and I’m deeply grateful to you for speaking about this.

Thank you for your attention.

Kyiv, October 9, 2007