Rep. Hyde introduces resolution on Famine (09/28/03)

Rep. Hyde introduces resolution on Famine

WASHINGTON - Rep. Henry J. Hyde, chairman of the International Relations Committee in the House of Representatives, introduced a resolution "expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the man-made famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933."

The measure, House Resolution 356, was introduced on September 5 with the co-sponsorship of Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), and referred to the House Committee on International Relations.

The resolution calls for solemn remembrance of the Great Famine, underscores that "this man-made famine was designed and implemented by the Soviet regime as a deliberate act of terror and mass murder against the Ukrainian people," and calls for support of "the decision of the government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) to give official recognition to the famine and its victims, as well as their efforts to secure greater international awareness and understanding of the famine."

Significantly, the Hyde resolution notes that "many Western observers with first-hand knowledge of the famine, including The New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for his reporting from the Soviet Union, knowingly and deliberately falsified their reports to cover up and refute evidence of the famine in order to suppress criticism of the Soviet regime." The resolution also points out that "Western observers and scholars who reported accurately on the existence of the famine were subjected to disparagement and criticism in the West for their reporting of the famine."

The resolution cites the conclusion of the U.S. Government Commission on the Ukraine Famine that victims were "starved to death in a man-made famine" and that "Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933."

Rep. Hyde's resolution is the third resolution related to the 70th anniversary of the Great Famine of 1932-1933 to be introduced this year in the U.S. Congress. Senate Resolution 202 was introduced on July 28 by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, while House Resolution 254 was introduced by Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) on July 24. (The full texts of these two resolutions appeared in The Weekly's August 10 issue.)

In addition, earlier this year Rep. Levin had introduced a bill to erect a monument in Washington to commemorate the victims of the Famine-Genocide. The monument would be unveiled in 2008 in time for the 75th anniversary of the Great Famine.

According to Helsinki Commission Staff Adviser Orest Deychakiwsky, the fact that "there are a few different Famine resolutions out there testifies to the interest in this issue by various members of Congress."

The full text of the latest congressional resolution follows.

House Resolution 356

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the man-made famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933.

Whereas 2003 marks the 70th anniversary of the height of the famine in Ukraine that was deliberately initiated and enforced by the Soviet regime through the seizure of grain and the blockade of food shipments into the affected areas, as well as by forcibly preventing the starving population from leaving the region, for the purposes of eliminating resistance to the forced collectivization of agriculture and destroying Ukraine's national identity;

Whereas this man-made famine resulted in the deaths of at least 5 million men, women, and children in Ukraine and an estimated 1 million -2 million people in other regions;

Whereas the famine took place in the most productive agricultural area of the former Soviet Union while foodstocks throughout the country remained sufficient to prevent the famine and while the Soviet regime continued to export large quantities of grain;

Whereas many Western observers with first-hand knowledge of the famine, including The New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for his reporting from the Soviet Union, knowingly and deliberately falsified their reports to cover up and refute evidence of the famine in order to suppress criticism of the Soviet regime;

Whereas Western observers and scholars who reported accurately on the existence of the famine were subjected to disparagement and criticism in the West for their reporting of the famine;

Whereas the Soviet regime and many scholars in the West continued to deny the existence of the famine until the collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991 resulted in many of its archives being made accessible, thereby making possible the documentation of the premeditated nature of the famine and its harsh enforcement;

Whereas the final report of the United States Government's Commission on the Ukraine Famine, established on December 13, 1985, concluded that the victims were "starved to death in a man-made famine" and that "Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933"; and

Whereas, although the Ukraine famine was one of the greatest losses of human life in the 20th century, it remains insufficiently known in the United States and in the world: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that:

(1) the millions of victims of the man-made famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933 should be solemnly remembered and honored in the 70th year marking the height of the famine;

(2) this man-made famine was designed and implemented by the Soviet regime as a deliberate act of terror and mass murder against the Ukrainian people;

(3) the decision of the government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) to give official recognition to the famine and its victims, as well as their efforts to secure greater international awareness and understanding of the famine, should be supported; and

(4) the official recognition of the famine by the government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada represents a significant step in the re-establishment of Ukraine's national identity, the elimination of the legacy of the Soviet dictatorship, and the advancement of efforts to establish a democratic and free Ukraine that is fully integrated into the Western community of nations.

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