FOR THE RECORD: Smith on Famine, Ukrainian Helsinki Group (11/25/01)

FOR THE RECORD

Smith on Famine, Ukrainian Helsinki Group

Following is the text of a statement in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), co-chairman of the Commission on Security and Coopera-tion in Europe (Helsinki Commission) delivered on November 13 to mark the 67th anniversary of the Great Famine in Ukraine and the 25th anniversary of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the memory of innocent victims of an abominable act perpetrated against the people of Ukraine in 1932-1933. 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 that 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 man-made famine was the consequence of deliberate policies that 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 - Oleksii Tykhy, Yurii 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 Heorhii 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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