Dangerous games with memory

Klasphemous as it is, the fact remains that the Ukrainian and foreign media have for several days actively debated the construction of a hotel on the grounds of Babyn Yar. Not so long ago the Kyiv Mayor’s Office produced a plan for the construction of hotels until 2010, including one to be built at 52-54 Melnykov St., in other words a short walk from the memorial complex of Babyn Yar. This hotel is possibly intended for Euro-2012.

During the Second World War over 100,000 Kyiv residents and prisoners of war of various nationalities and religious affiliations were massacred in the ravine of Babyn Yar. On September 28–30 Ukraine marked Babyn Yar Memorial Day.

In response to the media and Ukraine’s foreign ministry’s official inquiry, the mayor of Kyiv has vetoed the clause of the Kyiv Council’s resolution “On the Adoption of the Plan for Hotel Construction in the City of Kyiv for the Period until 2020” providing for the construction of a hotel at 52-54 Melnykov St., the mayor’s office reports. How long this decision will be maintained is anyone’s guess.

President Shimon Peres of Israel expressed concern about this situation in a live link-up at the Fourth Summit of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) held at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea. He said he was opposed to any construction projects on a site where the Nazis massacred Jews. In fact, this problem can be solved by speeding up the completion of the Babyn Yar Memorial. After that no one will encroach on this area. For the time being, domestic and foreign experts hope that both the city authorities and the public will prevent any construction in the park accommodating the memorial.

Hryhorii SURKIS, president, Soccer Federation of Ukraine:

“I don’t know how true everything written and broadcast by the media is, but I am outraged by the very fact that Babyn Yar is mentioned in this scandalous context. There is a limit to everything. There must exist clear-cut moral and ethical limits in public consciousness that cannot be crossed by anyone, including journalists. Let’s not forget that these cynical headings are read by people across the world.

“First, we must figure out this weird situation rather than cast aspersions on the Euro-2012 brand and build an image of a leprous country. After all, we are a civilized nation that must have its dignity and self-respect. If all this is the result of bureaucratic idiocy, it must be immediately corrected instead of letting the media indulge in lambasting dumb bureaucrats.”