An appeal to the world: the Holodomor must be recognized as an act of genocide

President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine has appealed to the international community and the UN to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation. He further called upon Ukrainian politicians to do everything necessary to make this happen. “I appeal to the entire international community and UN member states to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. I would like to ask Ukrainian political and civic organizations to step up and continue efforts in this direction. The world must know about this tragedy,” President Yushchenko said in Kyiv during the ceremony to launch the artistic and documentary exhibit entitled “The Swinging Bells of Memory,” dedicated to the victims of the Holodomor and political repressions. President Yushchenko stressed that in 1988 US Congress recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation. The parliaments of Canada, Austria, and Hungary followed suit, while the Lithuanian parliament did so last Thursday. In 2003 the UN also recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, with 63 countries signing a statement to this effect. “I instruct Ukrainian diplomats to continue this work among UN member states from this day till the 75th anniversary. We must secure international recognition of this colossal tragedy,” Yushchenko stressed. The president also spoke about the immediate need to create a National Holodomor Museum, a database of all victims, and a documentary “that would become a symbol of the nation for not only Ukraine, but for the entire world.”