Sen. Lugar is questioned in Ukraine about stalled Famine-Genocide resolution (09/05/04)

Sen. Lugar is questioned in Ukraine about stalled Famine-Genocide resolution

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Sen. Richard Lugar stated on September 1 while on a trip to Kyiv that the Senate resolution acknowledging the 1932-1933 Great Famine in Ukraine as genocide had not moved from his Senate Foreign Relations Committee because it lacks sufficient support among committee members.

"We have many resolutions that we must address. I would say that this one specifically is one that has not found widespread support among the committee members," Mr. Lugar said in response to the question posed by The Ukrainian Weekly. "It has not made it to the business committee yet, which is one of the first steps. It would probably not receive a majority for passage in any event."

When informed that a majority of members of the Foreign Relations Committee had, in fact, signed on in support of the resolution, the Republican senator from Indiana replied, "I did not know that. I'll have to review that to be sure."

After the press conference, The Weekly's correspondent was approached by a Kenneth Myers III, a senior professional staff member of the Foreign Relations Committee, who suggested that The Weekly call Sen. Lugar's press secretary in Washington for an explanation.

Andrew Nynka, an editor on The Weekly's staff in Parsippany, N.J., contacted Andy Fisher, press secretary for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Asked to clarify Mr. Lugar's remarks, Mr. Fisher, said: "The issue has been that there is no support for this particular language in the Senate resolution from the White House and we're trying to work it out to make modifications to the language with the supporters" of the resolution.

Asked what particular language he was referring to, Mr. Fisher said: "The dispute is about who makes the determination on genocide."

He added that "these are all resolvable issues" and that "some language changes need to occur." He also said that, overall, Sen. Lugar supports the issue.

The Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), was introduced in July 28, 2003, at a time when the Great Famine was receiving considerable world attention in conjunction with commemorations of its 70th anniversary. The bill, Senate Resolution 202, which puts the Senate on record as calling the Great Famine an act of genocide as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention, has been stalled in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since then, even though 10 of the 19 members of the committee are co-sponsors.

By Senate rules, a committee chairman has considerable authority in controlling the movement of bills out of his committee. A total of 33 senators have signed on as supporters of S.R. 202, including 12 Republicans and 21 Democrats.

Sen. Lugar, who has been a strong proponent of close ties between Washington and Kyiv and is an author of the Nunn-Lugar Threat Reduction Act, that financed the removal of nuclear missiles from Ukraine's territory, thanked those in Ukraine who had helped with the country's de-nuclearization. He also expressed his gratitude to the nation and its leadership for the role Ukraine is playing in the Iraq Stabilization Force.

"I am an enthusiast of Ukraine because I believe in the country. I believe the future of Ukraine lies in NATO and the European Union," Sen. Lugar said during a short press conference on the back lawn of the U.S. ambassador's residence in Kyiv.

However, Sen. Lugar warned - as have a number of other U.S. diplomats and politicians who have trekked here in the last few months - that Ukraine must hold free and fair presidential elections to continue on its path toward democracy and the West. He reminded the ruling elite that a large number of international observers would be on hand to make sure that the will of the Ukrainian people was observed on October 31.

"Thousands of citizens who believe in democracy from Europe and around the world will be here to celebrate free and fair elections," noted the senator.

Sen. Lugar, who had a telephone discussion with President Leonid Kuchma and met with Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn during his one-day stop, commented that Kyiv had changed considerably since his last visit, including a dynamic transformation in the look, the pace and the amount of traffic in the city.

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