Democratic National Committee Passes Holodomor Resolution

Andrew Fedynksy, member of the NDECC, Alexandra Chalupa, DNC Director of Party Leaders, Dr. James Zogby, Co-Chair of the DNC Resolutions Committee and Founder and Secretary of the NDECC, and Julian Kulas, member of the NDECC (from left to right).   Andrew Fedynsky and Julian Kulas spearheaded the Resolution efforts, working closely with Ms. Chalupa.

WASHINGTON, DC - The Democratic National Committee (DNC)adopted a Resolution "Honoring the Holodomor victims, survivors and their families" at its Winter Meeting on Saturday, February 26, 2011.

Sponsored by members of the DNC's National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee (NDECC), the Resolution detailed the 1932-33 Ukrainian Famine-Genocide, makes several historical and scholarly references to demonstrate the deliberate nature of the mass starvation and cites resolutions passed by U.S. and Ukrainian legislative bodies, as well as President Obama's most recent statement commemorating the 76th Anniversary of this horrific tragedy.  

The DNC expressed its "sympathies to the victims, survivors and families affected by Holodomor" and expressed support for the construction of the monument honoring Holodomor as authorized by Congress and signed into law as P.L. 109-340. 

The Resolutions Committee of the DNC agreed to include the Holodomor Resolution on its agenda at the request of the NDECC and its three delegates to the DNC, Polish-American Marilyn Piurek, Albanian-American Ilir Zherka, and Arab-American Dr. James Zogby, Chairman of the Resolutions Committee.  DNC Director of the Office of Party Leaders, Alexandra Chalupa-herself a first generation Ukrainian-American-worked closely with the NDECC on the Holodomor Resolution.

Ukrainian-American members of the NDECC, Andrew Fedynsky from Ohio and Julian Kulas from Illinois spoke at the DNC Resolutions Committee, urging the Resolution's passage.   Fedynsky and Kulas concluded their testimony with the statement:  "Today, many countries, including the United States and, of course, Ukraine have declared the Holodomor a Genocide, even as a handful-to their shame-continue to deny that historical reality.  Overwhelming evidence, including that gathered by the Congressional Commission on the Ukraine Famine in the early 1980s, makes it impossible to deny the enormity of the Holodomor." 

After the Resolution was adopted unanimously, Fedynsky and Kulas added, "On behalf of the Ukrainian-American community, we would like to extend our heart-felt thanks to the DNC members for their sensitivity to this issue.  We are grateful that Democrats understand the importance of recognizing an event such as Holodomor and its role in preventing future atrocities and genocide."

 

Resolution Honoring the Holodomor Victims, Survivors and Their Families

WHEREAS, the Holodomor (Famine-Genocide) in Ukraine, perpetrated by the totalitarian government of the Soviet Union and its dictator Joseph Stalin in 1932-33 was one of the greatest crimes in history;

WHEREAS, the Soviet Government deliberately seized the entire grain harvest in Ukraine during the final phase of Stalin's collectivization policy in the First Five Year Plan;

WHEREAS, this action resulted in widespread starvation throughout the countryside in Soviet Ukraine.

WHEREAS, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of Ukraine sealed to prevent anyone from escaping the man-made starvation;

WHEREAS, the deliberate starvation of the Ukrainian population in the countryside was accompanied by mass arrests, executions and deportations to Siberia of thousands of people from Ukraine's cultural, political and religious sectors;

WHEREAS, the Soviet government manipulated and censored foreign journalists to prevent news of the man-made famine from being communicated to the world;

WHEREAS, New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty knowingly denied the existence of the famine, even as he privately said the Famine had claimed as many as 10 million victims;

WHEREAS, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin used the same number of victims when he told

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill about his campaign to impose collectivization;

WHEREAS, Holodomor scholar Robert Conquest conservatively estimates 7 million victims of the Famine, including those of non-Ukrainian nationalities;

WHEREAS, the 1988 Report to Congress of the United States Commission on the Ukraine Famine estimates that upwards of 8 million or more victims of the Holodomor;

WHEREAS, after exhaustive study the United States Commission on the Ukraine Famine concluded that the victims of the Holodomor were "starved to death in a manmade famine" and that "Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-33";

WHEREAS, on November 8, 2008 the Ukrainian Parliament (Rada) determined the Holodomor to be a deliberate policy of Genocide against the Ukrainian nation, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet government;

WHEREAS, on October 13, 2006 the President of the United States signed into law P.L.109-340 authorizing the Government of Ukraine to "establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-33";

WHEREAS, the U.S. House of Representatives on September 23, 2008 passed H.Res.1314 to commemorate the 76th Anniversary of the Holodomor with 7-10 million victims;

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama recognized the 76th Anniversary of Holodomor Remembrance Day stating that "remembering the victims of the man-made catastrophe of Holodomor provides us an opportunity to reflect upon the plight of all those who have suffered the consequences of extremism and tyranny around the world. We hope that the remembrance of Holodomor will help prevent such tragedy in the future;"

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The Democratic National Committee extend its sympathies to the victims, survivors and families affected by the Holodomor and join the Ukrainian-American community and its friends in condemning the atrocity perpetrated by the Soviet Government and encouraging appropriate commemoration of this crime and its victims, including construction of the monument authorized by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by the President as P.L. 109-340.

 

This resolution was adopted by the Democratic National Committee on Saturday, February 26, 2011.

Submitted by:

James Zogby, At-Large/District of Columbia

Marilyn Piurek, National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee/Connecticut

Ilir Zherka, National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee/District of Columbia

Donna Brazile, DNC Vice Chair/District of Columbia

Alice Germond, DNC Secretary/West Virginia