[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UKRAINIAN FAMINE OF 1932-33

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I am pleased to cosponsor 
S.Con.Res. 122, introduced by my distinguished colleague, Senator 
Levin, commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 
1932-33. It is timely once again for us to join together to call the 
world's attention to this cold act of mass murder, to remember its 
victims, and to pledge ourselves to prevent hunger from being used as a 
weapon of genocide. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this 
resolution.
  The Ukrainian Famine ranks among the most devastating human tragedies 
of all time, with an estimated loss of life exceeding 7 million men, 
women and children. Millions of Ukrainians died not from natural 
causes, but from policies designed to eradicate Ukraine's cultural and 
political identity and to punish the Ukrainian people for resisting the 
forced collectivization of agriculture. As such, the Famine is a 
dramatic testament to the brutality of the imperial Soviet system, 
responsible for the destruction of tens of millions of lives over the 
course of its 70-year existence.
  The Ukrainian Famine was a crime of epic proportions. In the 1980's 
the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine painstakingly documented 
every aspect of this genocide, collecting an impressive body of 
material documenting the tragedy inflicted upon Ukrainians by their 
Soviet masters. Members of the Famine Commission from this body and 
from the House of Representatives held hearings around the country in 
which elderly eyewitnesses recounted the consequences of Stalin's 
genocidal policies in starkly human terms, giving poignant and often 
gruesome accounts of the horrors they, their families, friends and 
fellow countrymen faced. The Famine Commission's final report to 
Congress confirmed the man-made nature of the Famine, specifically, the 
complicity of Joseph Stalin and those around him in its conception and 
execution.
  Clearly, the Ukrainian Famine occurred within the context of a Soviet 
system which denied and vigorously opposed democratic values, the rule 
of law, and any respect for elementary human rights. Now that Ukraine 
is free from foreign domination and is moving towards full respect for 
human rights, democratic values and the rule of law, the likelihood of 
a similar catastrophe, at the present time, appears remote.
  Nevertheless, I strongly agree with the resolution's assertion that 
it is essential that the United States continue to assist Ukraine as it 
proceeds towards democracy, a free-market economy, and full respect for 
human rights. It is imperative for America and for the West to support 
independence and democracy in Ukraine to ensure that Ukraine never 
again experiences domination by a foreign power hostile to Ukraine's 
very identity as a people and as a nation.
  Mr. President, in closing, I once again urge my colleagues to join 
together in support of this important resolution.

                          ____________________