President Kuchma's message to compatriots (11/28/04)

President Kuchma's message to compatriots

Dear Compatriots!

Today's gathering is yet another important occasion to pay respect to the memory of millions of Ukrainians who put their lives on the cruel altar of the totalitarian Soviet regime.

In the history of Ukraine there are wounds that have not healed and victims who will never be forgotten.

This pain does not subside but grows stronger with every passing year as we uncover for ourselves the truth about how cruel was Ukraine's fate under the horrible Stalinist regime.

The establishment of our own Ukrainian state, the focus of aspirations of many generations of our ancestors, which based on the tenets of justice, freedom and democracy, is a firm guarantee that those tragic events will never return to our land.

Freedom from the bondage of the totalitarian Soviet system has unleashed the limitless potential of our people, which has become the main source of today's undeniable success of our state and the strengthening of its grandeur and independence.

The Ukrainian people will continue to feel for many more years the irreversible consequences of the Holodomor of 1932-1933.

At the same time, we also should not forget the tragic dates of other Holodomors - 1921-1923 and 1946-1947.

The act of honoring our own history should be a cause not only of scholars and historians, but also of the entire Ukrainian nation, without which the nation's spiritual development will not be possible.

The tolling bells of past tragedies are still resounding in the hearts of Ukraine. They must peal in all corners of the modern world in tribute to those who have perished and as a reminder to those who live.

Let us keep in everlasting memory those who have perished. Let Holodomors never return, and let them never be forgotten.

Let them remain in our hearts as a contribution to the memory of those who have perished, as a reminder of the pain endured by a people and of their undaunted strength.

With sincere respect,
Leonid Kuchma

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