All-Ukrainian Council of Churches seeks U.N. recognition of Famine-Genocide

Religious Information Service of Ukraine

LVIV - Representatives of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches sent a letter to U.N. Secretary General Koffi Anan, requesting that the United Nations acknowledge the Great Famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation.

A brief excerpt from the letter follows.

"The man-made Famine in 1932 and 1933 in Ukraine became most devastating for our nation and put into question the very existence of the [Ukrainian] people ... It was an evil and purposeful policy, targeted at the ultimate annihilation of the Ukrainian nation, its gene pool, and even a mention of its existence in world history. [It was] the policy of 'the final solution of the Ukrainian issue.'

"Not only did the Soviet government refuse to help the regions that were affected by famine, but deliberately aggravated their situation, confiscating the smallest amounts of food or crops for future planting. People who tried to escape famine by fleeing the country were stopped on the border by armed units ... This terrible disaster, which took the lives of approximately 10 million people, became the biggest in scale and at the same time the least known among all tragedies of the 20th century.

"The Churches of Ukraine raise up their prayers for the millions of innocent victims of this crime against humanity and want the memory to become an eternal warning for all nations throughout the world, to work together in their desire to preserve creation and value every single individual and prevent the dehumanization of humanity."

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 20, 2003, No. 16, Vol. LXXI

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