A task for the future...

Putting the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-33 back on the agenda of international politics is very important for Ukraine. On the one hand, it revives active Ukrainian policy in this field, initiated by president of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko during his term in office, while on the other, it offers historical evidence reinforcing the position of Ukraine, which has been dealing with Russian aggression and the Kremlin-led ethnocide in the occupied Ukrainian territories of Crimea and Donbas for nearly three years already.

HANNA HOPKO: “I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MEMBERS OF OUR DIASPORA WHO INVESTED 20 MILLION DOLLARS TO MAKE THE FILM BITTER HARVEST, WHICH WILL BE RELEASED TO THEATERS SOON. THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL GET TO SEE A MODERN FEATURE FILM ABOUT THE HOLODOMOR. WE SHOULD USE CINEMA TO SHOW THE WORLD THE TRUTH” / Photo by Oleksandr KOSARIEV

COMMENTARY

“THE FAMINE-GENOCIDE WAS A DELIBERATE CRIME ON THE PART OF THE KREMLIN”

Natalia DZIUBENKO-MACE, author and historian:

 “This event is symbolic and symptomatic. Speaking for myself, besides a deep sense of approval, this Appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Democratic Countries of the World for Recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-33 as a Crime of Genocide Committed against the Ukrainian People is bringing up in me the feeling of a dull, long-standing resentment towards our politicians. Newly independent Ukraine has been on the world map for over a quarter of a century. And almost since its appearance, we have seen broadly-based research being done on the three manmade famines that swept like a deadly steamroller over our land and our souls in the 20th century. I am currently working on James Mace’s correspondence with Western scholars and politicians. All his letters deal with a single issue, the single most important task that he set for himself: to get the Western community to recognize the Holodomor as a crime of genocide, a crime against humankind and humanity, which according to international law have no applicable statute of limitations. Almost all responses to his passionate appeal, coming from his German, Belgian, Australian, Canadian, American, etc. correspondents, and even from Russians, included an expression of reproach: and what about the Ukrainians? How dare you demand something from the world, when the Ukrainians themselves remain undecided on what is the correct interpretation of their history? Let us recall that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine’ only on November 28, 2006, thus officially recognizing 1932-33 Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. It passed with 233 votes. Over 200 MPs did not vote for it. By the way, this latest appeal gained the same number of votes, that is, 233. At this new turn, new point of divergence, we got exactly the same result, which cannot help but cause a feeling of deep anxiety, as we know how the law and its provisions were disregarded during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency.

 “I look approvingly at all clauses of the Appeal. Of course it is timely. It has been timely for much too long. By and large, it is a quarter of a century late. Had the Verkhovna Rada passed such a consolidating act on time, much of our subsequent history would have developed differently, or would not have happened at all. Our politicians cowardly retreated in the face of the Russian media and propaganda offensive, took steps back, offered excuses. Meanwhile, they failed to heed warnings sounded by people such as Mace, who maintained that accurate and adequate assessment of the crimes committed by Joseph Stalin and his clique against Ukraine and the Ukrainians would make it impossible to repeat them. They said also that the Russian policy towards Ukraine was deeply-rooted and long-standing in nature as well as aggressive and conquest-prone. Thus, they believed, a new historical turn would inevitably see Russia returning to its tried and tested arsenal of pressure and violence. It was therefore necessary to put up all possible barriers – media, diplomatic, historical – to guard against future aggression. And the international recognition of the Holodomor as genocide can be one of the most effective tools of defense and protection of the nation.

 “On closely reading this document, I realize that its speaking of deliberate deception of the international community may have been caused by some diplomatic maneuvers which I cannot understand. Nevertheless, the Ukrainians and citizens of the civilized world still must know that the Holodomor was a deliberate crime on the part of the Kremlin, and covering it with the veil of silence was a deliberate wrongdoing on the part of the international community, at least the politicians and diplomats. The rulers of the West, its powerful people knew about the Holodomor. There are many documents, there are many irrefutable facts testifying to it. We need to go back and analyze them, to submit them to the UN. This issue has long gone beyond the territory on which this unprecedented genocide happened. Today, it has to do with all the countries and peoples of Europe and the world, as well as the future of humankind.”