[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 156 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 67TH ANNIVERSARY OF UKRAINE FAMINE AND 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF UKRAINIAN 
                             HELSINKI GROUP

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 13, 2001

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 
memory of innocent victims of an abominable act perpetrated against the 
people of Ukraine in 1932-33. Seven million innocent men, women and 
children were murdered so that one man, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, 
could consolidate control over Ukraine. The Ukrainian people resisted 
the Soviet policy of forced collectivization. The innocent died a 
horrific death at the hands of a tyrannical dictatorship which had 
crushed their freedom.
  In an attempt to break the spirit of an independent-minded and 
nationally-conscious Ukrainian peasantry, and ultimately to secure 
collectivization, Stalin ordered the expropriation of all foodstuffs in 
the hands of the rural population. The grain was shipped to other areas 
of the Soviet Union or sold on the international market. Peasants who 
refused to turn over grain to the state were deported or executed. 
Without food or grain, mass starvation ensued. This manmade famine was 
the consequence of deliberate policies which aimed to destroy the 
political, cultural and human rights of the Ukrainian people. In short, 
food was used as a weapon in what can only be described as an organized 
act of terrorism designed to suppress a people's love of their land and 
the basic liberty to live as they choose.
  This month also marks an important milestone in more recent Ukrainian 
history. Twenty-five years ago, on November 9, 1976, 10 courageous men 
and women formed the Ukrainian Public Group to Promote the 
Implementation of the Helsinki Accords. The work of the Ukrainian 
Helsinki Group focused on monitoring human rights violations and on the 
Ukrainian national question as an integral component of human rights 
issues. The Ukrainian Helsinki Group eventually became the largest of 
its kind among similar groups in the Soviet Union, but also the most 
repressed by the Soviet regime. Of the 37 Ukrainians who eventually 
joined the Group, virtually all were subjected to lengthy terms in 
labor camps and internal exile. Three--Oleksiy Tykhy, Yuri Lytvyn and 
Vasyl Stus--died in the mid-1980s while serving camp terms under 
extremely harsh conditions. Their courageous, active commitment to 
human rights and freedom for the people of Ukraine laid the foundation 
for the historic achievement of Ukrainian independence in 1991.
  As we honor the memory of the millions of innocent victims of the 
Ukrainian Famine, let us also not forget to honor the work and, in some 
instances, the martyrdom, of the valiant members of the Ukrainian 
Helsinki Group.
  While similar atrocities are highly unlikely, Ukraine has yet to 
realize its full democratic potential. Despite the real progress made 
in the decade since independence, the unsolved murders of Georgiy 
Gongadze and other journalists and political figures, the assaults on 
media freedoms, the pervasive corruption, and the lack of respect for 
the rule of law demonstrate a democratic deficit that must be overcome. 
An independent, sovereign, democratic Ukraine--in which respect for the 
dignity of human beings is the cornerstone--is the best guarantee that 
the horrors of the last century become truly inconceivable.

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