Famine exhibit opened at U.N. (11/16/03)

Famine exhibit opened at U.N.

by Marta Baczynsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

UNITED NATIONS - The exhibition "Holodomor: The Great Man-Made Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933" opened on Monday, November 10 at the United Nations, commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Famine-Genocide. The exhibit was organized by The Ukrainian Museum at the request of Ukraine's Permanent Mission to the U.N. More than 300 people attended the opening.

The exhibition was opened by Shashi Tharoor, under-secretary-general for public information, who said that the word "Holodomor" has now become a part of the language of the United Nations.

Valeriy Kuchinsky, permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, spoke about the tragedy of the Holodomor and said that a joint statement on the 70th anniversary of the Holodomor, drawn up by the delegation of Ukraine and co-sponsored by many member-states, will be distributed as an official document of the United Nations General Assembly.

He went on to say: "We are convinced that exposing violations of human rights, preserving historical records and restoring the dignity of victims by recognizing their suffering, will help the international community avoid similar catastrophes in the future."

Askold Lozynskyj, president of the Ukrainian World Congress, paraphrased a very moving excerpt from Vasyl Barka's "The Yellow Prince" a groundbeaking literary work about the Famine.

Since the U.N. hosted the exhibition, numerous dignitaries from that world organization attended the opening of the exhibition. Among them were: Prof. Gido de Marco, president of Malta and former president of the U.N. General Assembly; Julian Hunte, president of the 58th session of the United Nations; Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations; and several members of the Security Council and wider membership.

Also in attendance were representatives of the Ukrainian government: Serhiy Pohoreltzev, consul general of Ukraine in New York, Hennadii Udovenko, chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, as well as members of the General Consulate in New York and the Permanent Mission to the U.N.

The exhibition will be on view at the U.N. Visitors' Lobby through November 19.

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