Senate Resolution 202
A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate
regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933
Senate Resolution 202, introduced by Helsinki Commission
Co-Chairman
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) - the first Congressional resolution
that explicitly
and unambiguously calls the Great Famine a genocide.
Below is a list of the current co-sponsors of Sen. Ben Nighthorse
Campbell's
Senate Resolution 202, the resolution on the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in
Ukraine
that unequivocally calls the Famine a genocide, which was introduced by
the Colorado Republican
on July 28, 2003. The senators are listed in the order in which they signed
on as co-sponsors;
new sponsors are indicated by an asterisk. At present the resolution's sponsors
include 12 Republicans and 21 Democrats.
The measure, whose official title is "A resolution
expressing the sense of the Senate
regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933," was referred
to the Senate's Committee
on Foreign Relations on July 28, 2003, where it has been stalled.
George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), George
Allen (R-Va.),
Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.),
Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Joe Biden (D-Del.),
Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.),
Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.),
Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.),
Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.),
Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.),
Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine),
Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), John McCain (R-Ariz.),
Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.)*
NB: Of the 19 members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
10 are co-sponsors - Republicans Allen, Voinovich and Coleman, and Democrats
Biden
(the ranking minority member), Sarbanes, Boxer, Kerry, Feingold, Corzine
and Dodd - of S. Res. 202,
while nine committee members - Republicans Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Chuck
Hagel (Neb.),
Lincoln Chafee (R.I.), Sam Brownback (Kan.), Michael Enzi (Wyo.), Lamar
Alexander (Tenn.)
and John Sununu (N.H.), and Democrats Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Jay Rockefeller
(W.Va.) - are not.
Sen. Lugar is the Foreign Relations Committee chairman.
ACTION ITEM: Senate Resolution 202
EDITORIAL: Stop stalling S. Res. 202
EDITORIAL: Calling all Ukrainian Americans
EDITORIAL: Have you done
your part?
Securing passage of the Famine-Genocide resolution
EDITORIAL: The Famine and Russia's denials
EDITORIAL: Famine resolutions in Congres
SENATE RESOLUTION 202 S. RES. 202 in the Senate of the United States. Mr. Campbell submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933. Whereas 2003 marks the 70th anniversary of the Ukraine Famine, a man-made disaster that resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children and annihilated an estimated 25 percent of the rural population of that country; Whereas it has been documented that large numbers of inhabitants of Ukraine and the then largely ethnically Ukrainian North Caucasus Territory starved to death in the Famine of 1932-1933, which was caused by forced collectivization and grain seizures by the Soviet regime; Whereas the United States Government's Commission on the Ukraine Famine concluded that former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his associates committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933, using food as a political weapon to achieve the aim of suppressing any Ukrainian expression of political and cultural identity and self-determination; Whereas, as a result, millions of rural Ukrainians starved amid some of the world's most fertile farmland, while Soviet authorities prevented them from traveling to areas where food was more available; Whereas requisition brigades, acting on Stalin's orders to fulfill the impossibly high grain quotas, seized the 1932 crop, often taking away the last scraps of food from starving families and children and killing those who resisted; Whereas Stalin, knowing of the resulting starvation, intensified the extraction from Ukraine of agricultural produce, worsening the situation and deepening the loss of life; Whereas, during the Ukraine Famine, the Soviet government exported grain to western countries and rejected international offers to assist the starving population; Whereas the Ukraine Famine was not a result of natural causes, but was instead the consequence of calculated, ruthless policies that were designed to destroy the political, cultural, and human rights of the Ukrainian people; Whereas the Soviet Union engaged in a massive cover-up of the Ukraine Famine, and journalists, including some foreign correspondents, cooperated with the campaign of denial and deception; and Whereas, 70 years later, much of the world is still unaware of the genocidal Ukraine Famine: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that: (1) the millions of innocent victims of the Soviet-engineered Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933 should be solemnly remembered and honored on the 70th anniversary of the famine; (2) the 70th anniversary of the Ukraine Famine should serve as a stark reminder of the brutality of the totalitarian, imperialistic Soviet regime under which respect for human rights was a mockery and the rule of law a sham; (3) the Senate condemns the callous disregard for human life, human rights, and manifestations of national identity that characterized the Stalinist policies that caused the Ukrainian Famine; (4) the man-made Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933 was an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention; (5) the Senate supports the efforts of the government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) to publicly acknowledge and call greater international attention to the Ukraine Famine; and (6) an independent, democratic Ukraine, in which respect for the dignity of human beings is the cornerstone, offers the best guarantee that atrocities such as the Ukraine Famine never beset the Ukrainian people again. |
ACTION ITEM Senate Resolution 202 There are now 30 senators who are co-sponsors of Senate Resolution 202 introduced by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. This is a significant increase since fall 2003; thus, the challenge, in some ways, is not as daunting as previously. It has been previously reported that the Bush administration and Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, are not supporting S. Res. 202, which deals with the genocidal Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933. While this situation would not normally bode well for a resolution's successful passage, we must keep in mind that this is an election year - and the prospects for a close election are all there. Does either political party not want the votes of Ukrainian Americans and Americans interested in effective U.S.-Ukraine relations? If each and everyone of us can urge everyone interested in Ukraine to contact the remaining 70 senators to become co-sponsors of S. Res. 202, then, who knows, possibly the administration and Sen. Lugar may have a change of heart. The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation is also supporting this effort by recently submitting letters, focusing on the importance of S. Res. 202, to each of the 70 senators. Published on page 11 is a list of the 70 senators, in state alphabetical order, who have yet to become co-sponsors of S. Res. 202 along with their fax and phone numbers, and the names of their aides who handle foreign policy issues. Faxed letters and phone calls are most effective; mailed letters also are effective, but due to heightened security concerns, they take considerable time to reach Senate offices. If the senators from your state are co-sponsors already, urge relatives and friends from other states to contact their senators who have not yet come out in supporting of S. Res. 202. Faxed and mailed letters can be addressed as:
Note: Somewhere on the faxed or mailed letter, add "Attn: aide's name)" to make sure the letter gets directed to the appropriate legislative aide. If you call a Senate office, ask for the Senator's aide by name and speak directly to him or her. * * * (SAMPLE LETTER) Dear Senator (Name): I urge you to become a co-sponsor of Senate Resolution 202, regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933, introduced by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell on July 28, 2003, and co-sponsored by 29 other senators as of April 8, 2004. This resolution is dedicated to the memory of the victims of a heinous crime against humanity. The resolution reminds us all that the Free World cannot rest as long as oppressive regimes exist in this world. S. Res. 202 is critical not only for symbolic purposes but also because it sends a powerful message to the democratic forces in Ukraine that the U.S. Senate supports the development of free institutions that embrace the true meaning of democracy, liberty and justice in Ukraine. Your support of S. Res. 202 is essential and requested. Sincerely, * * * The support of the Ukrainian American community is critically important for the passage of S. Res. 202. If you have any questions or would like assistance in contacting your senator's office, please contact Marko Serbinsky at the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, mserbinsky@usukraine.org. - submitted by John A. Kun, vice president/chief operating officer, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation. |
EDITORIAL Stop stalling S. Res. 202 Over the course of the past few months we have on occasion used this space to voice our strong support for Senate Resolution 202, "A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933," and have often asked our readers to write their senators and urge support for the resolution. Now, with the presidential election in the United States approaching, the two front runners in that election have demonstrated to us their stance with regard to the issue. But before we address that topic further, a little background on S. Res. 202 is in order. Since the resolution was introduced, nearly eight months ago, on July 28, 2003, by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, it has been endorsed by 28 co-sponsors, but has nonetheless languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A similar resolution, H. Res. 356, whisked through the House of Representatives and on October 20, 2003, passed in that chamber without a single dissenting vote. The major difference between the two resolutions, however, is the use of the term genocide when describing the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933. While the Senate resolution, which unequivocally states that "the man-made Ukraine famine of 1932-1933 was an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention," the House resolution does not call the famine a genocide, but instead quotes the U.S. Government's Commission on the Ukraine Famine, which states that "Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933." Currently, S. Res. 202 sits stalled in the Foreign Relations Committee, where Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) waits for the resolution to have its language altered or be abandoned altogether. When asked whether Sen. Lugar supports S. Res. 202, his press secretary at the Foreign Relations Committee, Andy Fisher, told The Weekly via e-mail that "Sen. Lugar supports H. Res. 356, a resolution on this issue. It passed the House by a vote of 382-0. It was introduced by Congressman [Henry] Hyde, the chairman of the House International Relations Committee." Asked again whether Sen. Lugar supports the Senate resolution, Mr. Fisher said the senator does not. However, the situation still begs the question, How can a Senate resolution with 29 sponsors, nearly one-third of the entire U.S. Senate, sit in committee for nearly eight months? The answer, Mr. Fisher told The Weekly on March 17, rests with the White House. "The major hold-up to S. Res. 202 is that the Bush administration has expressed strong opposition to it," Mr. Fisher said via e-mail. Repeated phone calls made to the White House to clarify why the administration opposes S. Res. 202 were not returned. The dilemma for Mr. Bush, according to informed sources familiar with the Senate legislation, is twofold. On the one hand, Russia continues to oppose any legislative language that calls the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933 a genocide. On the other hand, and our sources tell us this is the real pressure against S. Res. 202, the Turkish government fears that if the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine is recognized as genocide it would spur similar action from Armenians who seek recognition for the genocide that took place in Turkey from 1915 to 1918. Writing in The Weekly on January 11, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the Bush administration opposes passage of S. Res. 202 because "the administration disagrees with the use of the term 'genocide' to describe the Stalinist policies in Ukraine." Sen. Biden rightfully argued that "the Senate Resolution is not an anti-Russian piece of legislation. It carefully avoids any accusations of collective guilt for the genocide and casts no aspersions on the current Russian government." While the Bush administration's lack of support for S. Res. 202 is disheartening, we should note that the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry, voiced his support for the Senate resolution months ago when he became a co-sponsor on October 30, 2003. S. Res. 202, we noted in a previous editorial, has bipartisan senatorial support -10 Republicans and 19 Democrats now co-sponsor the resolution. However, even with such significant co-sponsorship from both sides of the aisle, sadly Sen. Lugar, it seems, would rather take his cue on this issue from an administration more willing to appease foreign governments than to acknowledge the genocide that killed 7 million to 10 million in Ukraine - the kin of 900,000 Americans of Ukrainian ancestry. |
EDITORIAL Calling all Ukrainian Americans The U.S. Congress is back from its holiday recess, resuming its sessions as of Tuesday, January 20. As noted by various news media, the Congress has to deal with a number of leftover issues and bills - not the least of them an $820 billion spending measure that funds diverse federal agencies. Also in the legislative mix are such significant measures as bills on energy, highway programs and taxes. Thus the legislative calendar is quite full. Plus, with 2004 being an election year - and a presidential election year at that - the congressional calendar will be cut short due to breaks for the two party conventions during the summer and an early recess in the fall that provides time for members of Congress to travel back home and campaign. Thus, observers say, the congressional schedule will be dominated by politics. In the midst of all this, there is a Senate resolution that deserves the Senate's affirmative vote. We speak of Senate Resolution 202, "expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933." The resolution was introduced half a year ago, on July 28, 2003, by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. While it continues to gain co-sponsors - the count is now up to 27 - it continues to languish in committee. (See update on S. Res. 202 on page 4 and adjoining columns on this page.) That is why there continue to be calls for Ukrainian Americans and others to contact Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, to seek his support for this significant measure. In addition, Ukrainian Americans and friends of our community are being asked to contact their senators, if they are not yet co-sponsors of S. Res. 202, to impress upon them the importance of this resolution and explain why it is imperative that it be passed. At the same time, Sen. Campbell has written a "Dear Colleague" letter to all the members of the Senate, in which he underscores: "It is important that the world not forget this genocidal famine and that we support Ukraine's independence and democratic development as the best assurance that atrocities such as the Famine become truly unthinkable." It is noteworthy that this resolution includes senators on both sides of the aisle - 10 Republicans and 18 Democrats. Thus, it is neither a Republican, nor a Democratic initiative, but a bipartisan expression of the sense of the Senate at a time when communities throughout the world have been commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide, at a time when there are few survivors of that horror left among us. Why should we rally to secure passage of this particular resolution? The answer is simple. S. Res. 202, which unequivocally states that "the man-made Ukraine famine of 1932-1933 was an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention," is the strongest resolution dealing with the horrific events of 1932-1933 introduced in either house of the U.S. Congress. It tells the world the truth about what happened during the Famine years in Ukraine and neighboring ethnically Ukrainian regions, and it resolves that the millions of victims should be "solemnly remembered" and that the anniversary of the Famine "should serve as a stark reminder of the brutal imperialistic Soviet regime." Through this resolution the Senate "condemns the callous disregard for human life, human rights and manifestations of national identity that characterize the Stalinist policies that caused the Ukrainian Famine" and supports efforts "to publicly acknowledge and call greater international attention" to the Famine. In short, S. Res. 202 is both an important statement of the facts and a statement of U.S. concern. We cannot fail to advocate and secure passage of this landmark resolution, for we cannot fail the memory of the millions of our kin who perished during the Famine of 1932-1933. And, the Senate must not fail to acknowledge the deaths of between 7 million and 10 million men, women and children during one of history's worst genocides. |
EDITORIAL Have you done your part? Twice thus far we have written in this space about the significance of Senate Resolution 202, "expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the genocidal Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933," which was introduced back on July 28 by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission (see our editorials of August 10 and September 21). This resolution - one of three that have been introduced this year in the U.S. Congress to mark the 70th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide - calls the Famine of 1932-1933 "an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention" (more properly the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948). It is S. Res. 202 that the Russian Embassy in the United States has been trying to derail because, as its press secretary stated, "We categorically disagree with this assessment of the famine in Ukraine of the 1930s." This week we once again focus attention on the measure because it needs your action. To date, the Senate resolution has 15 co-sponsors - a nice number but, frankly, not good enough. We can and must do better to secure the support of more senators for this important resolution. According to Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet (a service of the Library of Congress), the resolution now has 13 senators as co-sponsors. Listed in the order they signed on, they are: George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), Michael DeWine (R-Ohio), George Allen (R-Va.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Joseph R. Biden (D-Del.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) Reports from Washington insiders indicate that Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) also have signed on. So, Dear Readers, if you do not see the names of your senators on the list above, you know what to do: write those letters, send those e-mails and make those phone calls encouraging your senators become co-sponsors of Senate Resolution 202. Your message needn't be lengthy; a simple and concise request for co-sponsorship of a resolution that is important to you as a constituent and your Ukrainian American community will do. If, on the other hand, you do see the name or names of your senators, drop them a line and thank them for supporting this most significant resolution. On the 70th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide that brutally killed millions of our people, millions of our relatives, we must continue our work to ensure that the truth will, in the end, be victorious. For, as political theorist and American patriot Thomas Paine, who helped inspire the American Revolution, wrote: "It is an affront to truth to treat falsehood with complaisance." |
EDITORIAL The Famine and Russia's denials The Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, defines genocide as: "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, such as: a) killing members of the group; b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group." The definition above lays the groundwork for the topic of this week's editorial: the Russian Embassy's attempt to derail the U.S. Senate resolution commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine. A front page story in this issue, which is based on a Radio Liberty report, indicates that representatives of Russia have contacted officials at the U.S. Department of State and in Congress in an effort to block passage of the resolution, introduced in late July by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. The reason: the resolution characterizes the Famine that was perpetrated on the orders of Joseph Stalin as "an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention." The press secretary of the Russian Embassy, Yevhen Khoryshko, told Radio Liberty: "We categorically disagree with this assessment of the famine in Ukraine of the 1930s. ... The policies of collectivization and the famine in Ukraine of the 1930s in no way fall under the juridical concept of genocide." Furthermore, he chided U.S. lawmakers for facilely "giving political assessments that have far-reaching consequences" and stated that this readiness to issue such an evaluation of the Famine "testifies to the lack of understanding on the part of American lawmakers of the juridical essence of the term 'genocide.' " The Russian Embassy spokesperson's comments come in the wake of a statement made back in August by Russia's ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin, who said that Russia has no intention of apologizing for the Stalin-era famine: "We're not going to apologize ... there is nobody to apologize to." The envoy went so far as to suggest that perhaps it is the Georgians who owe Ukrainian an apology since, after all, Stalin was Georgian - this despite the fact that Russia, by its own choice, is considered by the international community to be the successor state to the USSR, and, therefore, any apology in the name of the USSR is Russia's to make. Clearly then, the genocide deniers are hard at work. All of the above makes it even more imperative that we Ukrainian Americans - and all those we can rally to our cause - must work to secure passage of Senate Resolution 202. During this 70th anniversary of the Famine-Genocide we can accept nothing less than full acknowledgment that the "Holodomor" (as it is known in Ukrainian) that killed 7 million to 10 million of our brethren in Ukraine was unmitigated genocide. So, get on the phone, write those letters and send those e-mails to your senators to urge them to sign on as co-sponsors of this landmark resolution that unequivocally states the truth. |
EDITORIAL Famine resolutions in Congres On the front page of this issue, readers will note a news story about two separate resolutions introduced in late July in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Famine in Ukraine in which a quarter of the country's rural population was intentionally killed. Both measures call for remembrance of the victims, condemnation of brutal Soviet policies, and dissemination of information and knowledge about the Famine of 1932-1933. It must be underscored that both resolutions refer to the Famine as a genocide, as both cite the 1988 report of the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine which concluded that Stalin and his cohorts had "committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933." It is most significant, however, that the Senate resolution states that "the man-made Ukraine famine of 1932-33 was an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention." Adopted in 1948 by the U.N. General Assembly, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, such as: a) killing members of the group; b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group." Both the House and Senate resolutions also refer to Stalin's and subsequent Soviet leaders' massive cover-up of the forced Famine. As well, they cite the role of Western correspondents of the time. The House resolution cites the courage of Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin and Malcolm Muggeridge in reporting the Famine - and that fact they "were disparaged and criticized" for doing so. The Senate resolution points out that "some foreign correspondents cooperated with the campaign of denial and deception" - a reference to, among others, the infamous Walter Duranty. In introducing the Senate Resolution, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell delivered an eloquent statement in which he said: "The Ukraine Famine was not the result of drought or some other natural calamity, but of Soviet dictator Stalin's utterly inhumane, coldly calculated policy to suppress the Ukrainian people and destroy their human, cultural and political rights. It was the result of purposeful starvation." He described the purpose of his resolution as not only commemorating "millions of innocent victims," but also focusing "international attention to one of the 20th century's most appalling atrocities." But why two resolutions? Each stands on its own as an expression of the sense of the U.S. Congress that the Famine must be remembered and that knowledge of this crime against humanity is key to assuring that such genocidal acts never recur. So, in the end, dear readers, we and you should strongly support both resolutions and urge our senators and representatives to do so. For, as Sen. Campbell noted, " It is vital that the world not forget the Ukraine Famine, honor its victims, and reiterate our support for Ukraine's independence and democratic development as the best assurance that atrocities such as the famine become truly unimaginable." |
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