Turning the pages back... October 23, 1983 (10/19/03)

Turning the pages back...

October 23, 1983

Twenty years ago, the front page of this newspaper reported that 18 senators had become co-sponsors of Senate Concurrent Resolution 70 relating to the anniversary of the Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate on September 29 under the sponsorship of Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) and co-sponsorship of Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.).

In his introductory remarks, Sen. Hollings, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, stated: "It is time to break the silence and recognize the enormity of what occurred in Ukraine at that time. We must also understand it as a clear and brutal expression of Soviet behavior and policies which, in fundamental aspects, have changed little in over half a century." Sen. Domenici quoted from recent interviews with Malcolm Muggeridge, a correspondent who reported the truth about the Famine ravaging Ukraine, and former Rep. Hamilton Fish, who 50 years ago sponsored a similar resolution concerning the famine.

The resolution urged the president to designate May 28, 1984, the 50th anniversary of the date Rep. Fish introduced his resolution on the famine in the House of Representatives, as a day to commemorate the Great Ukrainian Famine. The resolution also called on the president to focus world attention on the famine through public and diplomatic channels, and to urge the Soviet Union to lift restrictions on the shipment of food parcels and other necessities to Soviet citizens by private individuals and charitable organizations.

In a letter dated September 29, Sens. Hollings and Domenici appealed to their colleagues to join as co-sponsors of S. Con. Res. 70. As of October 18, 18 senators had responded to the letter and were added as co-sponsors of the resolution. The Congressional Subcommittee of the National Committee to Commemorate Genocide Victims in Ukraine urged Ukrainian Americans to write to their senators to seek their co-sponsorship of S. Con. Res. 70. The subcommittee said it hoped to get at least 40 co-sponsors for the resolution and action by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The key to the Foreign Relations Committee's consideration of the resolution is the number of co-sponsors the resolution has attracted, the subcommittee said.

Ultimately, S. Con. Res. 70 had 61 co-sponsors and was passed by the Foreign Relations Committee on November 8 and by the full Senate a week later, on November 15, 1983.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives unanimously passed its own resolution on the Great Famine on November 17. House Concurrent Resolution 111 asked President Ronald Reagan to issue a proclamation concerning the Famine and criticized Soviet involvement in the Famine. The resolution, which was sponsored by Reps. Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.) and Hamilton Fish Jr. (R-N.Y.), had 84 co-sponsors.

Source: "18 senators become co-sponsors of Senate famine resolution," by Eugene Iwanciw, The Ukrainian Weekly, October 23, 1983, Vol. LI, No. 43; "Activity on Capitol Hill," in "1983: A Look Back," The Ukrainian Weekly December 25, 1983, Vol. LI, No. 52;Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet (a service of the Library of Congress), located at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

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