Groundbreaking held in D.C. for Victims of Communism Memorial (10/08/06)

Groundbreaking held in D.C. for Victims of Communism Memorial

by Serhiy Zhykharev
Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON - The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony on September 27 for a monument to over 100 million victims of communism.

The monument will be located on the highly traveled intersection of Massachusetts/New Jersey avenues and G Street, NW, across from the Georgetown Law Center and within view of the U.S. Capitol.

The monument is a 10-foot bronze replica of the "Goddess of Democracy" statue erected by Chinese students in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and based on the Statue of Liberty. Among the distinguished guests at the ceremony were Dr. Lee Edwards, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOCMF); Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky; Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.); the ambassadors of Ukraine, Lithuania, the Czech republic, Bulgaria and the Republic of China (Taiwan), as well as representatives from many other countries.

"Today, we are gathered to witness a truly historic event," Dr. Lee stated, "the groundbreaking ceremony for the first of its kind in the world - a monument to the over 100 million men, women and children who died under the tyrannical rule of Communist regimes in some 25 captive nations during the 20th century."

Dr. Edwards thanked the community organizations that helped achieve this goal, as well as the organizations, governments and private individuals who sponsored the project.

Rep. Rohrabacher, who was instrumental in the passage of Public Law 103-199, which authorized the construction of this memorial, talked about the difficulties of that endeavor: "I can hardly believe that we have actually arrived to this day after such a long ordeal. [...] Surprisingly, many in Congress objected to building this memorial. 'We should build a memorial to peace rather than victims of communism,' they suggested, refusing to acknowledge the evil nature of communism. But through persistence and a stroke of luck we have been able to achieve our goal. I am very proud to have been a part of this process."

Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky addressed the gathering and noted, "I am proud to admit the contribution that my father, Ambassador Lev Dobriansky [the first chairman of the VOCM Foundation and a long-time president of the UCCA] made to this cause."

Undersecretary Dobriansky also reminded her listeners that the fight against oppression is not over and that one-fifth of the planet is still under communist rule against its will. "So, let us honor the victims of communism by not only breaking ground for this important monument, but also by re-dedicating ourselves to the struggle of promoting our ideals of democracy."

Duing the official groundbreaking ceremony, various dignitaries took turns with ceremonial shovels.

Following the groundbreaking ceremony, a reception was held in the U.S. Capitol to thank the many supporters of the VOCMF. Several members of Congress were also present to express their support of the memorial. Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) spoke of the need to not only remember the victims of communism but to rededicate ourselves to fight against tyranny throughout the world.

Many members of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) participated in the official ceremonies marking the memorial's groundbreaking. The UCCA was among the members of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

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