PRINTER'S NO. 3054
No. 511 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY ROBERTS, ARGALL, BEBKO-JONES, BROWNE, CLYMER,
CORRIGAN, CRAHALLA, CRUZ, DALEY, DENLINGER, DeWEESE,
DiGIROLAMO, FRANKEL, GEIST, GOODMAN, HERSHEY, HUTCHINSON,
MANN, MARKOSEK, PALLONE, SAINATO, SATHER, SOLOBAY,
E. Z. TAYLOR, TIGUE, WALKO AND WOJNAROSKI, DECEMBER 9, 2003
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
DECEMBER 9, 2003
A RESOLUTION
1 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding
2 the man-made famine in the Soviet Ukraine in 1932-1933.
3 WHEREAS, 2003 marks the 70th anniversary of the height of the
4 famine in Ukraine that was deliberately initiated and enforced
5 by the Soviet regime through the seizure of grain, blockade of
6 food shipments into the affected areas and detention of the
7 starving population in the region for purposes of eliminating
8 resistance to the forced collectivization of agriculture and
9 destroying Ukrainian national identity; and
10 WHEREAS, This man-made famine resulted in the deaths of more
11 than 5 million men, women and children in Ukraine and an
12 estimated 2 million people in other regions; and
13 WHEREAS, The famine took place in the most productive
14 agricultural area of the former Soviet Union while foodstocks
15 throughout the country remained sufficient to prevent the famine
16 and while the Soviet regime continued to export large quantities
1 of grain; and
2 WHEREAS, Many western observers with firsthand knowledge of
3 the famine, including New York Times correspondent Walter
4 Duranty, a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1932 for his reporting from
5 the Soviet Union, knowingly and deliberately falsified reports
6 to cover up and refute evidence of the famine in order to
7 suppress criticism of the Soviet regime; and
8 WHEREAS, Western observers and scholars who reported
9 accurately on the existence of the famine were subjected to
10 disparagement and criticism in the West for their reporting of
11 the famine; and
12 WHEREAS, The Soviet regime and many scholars in the West
13 continued to deny the famine until the 1991 collapse of the
14 Soviet regime and subsequent documentation of premeditation and
15 harsh enforcement; and
16 WHEREAS, The final report of the United States Government's
17 Commission on the Ukraine Famine, established on December 13,
18 1985, concluded that the victims were "starved to death in a
19 man-made famine" and that "Joseph Stalin and those around him
20 committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933"; and
21 WHEREAS, Although the Ukraine famine was one of the greatest
22 losses of human life in the 20th century, it remains
23 insufficiently known in the United States and worldwide;
24 therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That it is the sense of the House of
26 Representatives that:
27 (1) The millions of victims of the man-made famine in
28 the Soviet Ukraine in 1932-1933 should be solemnly remembered
29 and honored in the 70th anniversary marking the height of the
30 famine.
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1 (2) This man-made famine was designed and implemented by
2 the Soviet regime as a deliberate act of terror and mass
3 murder against the Ukrainian people.
4 (3) The decision of the Government of Ukraine and the
5 Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) to give official
6 recognition to the famine and its victims, as well as their
7 efforts to secure greater international awareness and
8 understanding of the famine, should be supported.
9 (4) Official recognition of the famine by the Government
10 of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada represents a significant
11 step in the reestablishment of Ukrainian national identity,
12 elimination of the legacy of the Soviet dictatorship and
13 advancement of efforts to establish a democratic and free
14 Ukraine which is fully integrated into the western community
15 of nations.
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