[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 154 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE INJUSTICE THAT BEFELL THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL R. McNULTY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 8, 2001

  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I condemn the horrible injustice that 
befell the Ukrainian people 68 years ago. Approximately seven million 
Ukrainians fell victim to the famine inflicted by the Soviet government 
to extinguish the Ukrainian struggle for freedom. The 1932-1933 famine 
was a premeditated effort to exterminate the national consciousness of 
the Ukrainian peasantry in order to stop their continuous resistance to 
Leninist/Stalinist ideals.
  The causes of the famine had nothing to do with the harvest. 
Production of grain during those years remained at the usual levels. 
The government confiscated the grain in order to export it to gain 
money for industrialization in the former Soviet Union. Such was 
Stalin's undeclared war against the Ukrainians' right to independence 
and freedom. Many Ukrainians died heroically to preserve their right to 
live in a free and independent state. But their deaths were not in 
vain--the fight for Ukrainian freedom continued on and on August 24, 
1991 Ukraine finally declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
  The Ukrainian people have been fighting for their independence since 
the 16th century. With the arrival of the Marxist/Leninist ideas at the 
end of World War 1, their struggle continued and intensified because of 
the farm collectivization efforts. Stalin's government could not 
frighten or punish Ukrainians enough to make them give up their land 
and desert their ideal of freedom and nation-statehood. Instead, his 
government made a decision to exterminate the sense of nation among the 
Ukrainian people and as a result, Stalin''s government murdered a large 
portion of the population. Almost a quarter of all Ukrainians died in 
those dreadful years.
  These abhorrent events were hidden from the public for the duration 
of the Soviet rule. Now it is our duty to bring them to the attention 
of the world in order to remind us all of the benefits of democracy and 
horrors that an oppressive government can perpetrate on its people. At 
this time of war, when the United States and the world battle 
terrorism, we once again were reminded that it is impossible for us to 
tolerate any oppressive regime. In the end, America came under fire 
because America is the beacon of democracy and freedom.
  We, together with the Ukrainian American community, will commemorate 
the abhorrent acts of Stalin against the Ukrainian nation on November 
17, 2001 in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. We will remember the 
victims of the cowardly terrorist attacks that took place in New York, 
Pennsylvania, and Washington on September 11, 2001. We will mourn 
together the losses of our two countries and come together to celebrate 
the spirit of freedom that will undoubtedly persevere.

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