BRAMA, Nov 12, 2003, 1:00 am ET
New York - A new exhibition titled "Holodomor - The Great Man-Made Famine in Ukraine 1932-33" was unveiled yesterday United Nations' New York City headquarters. The exhibit was organized by The Ukrainian Museum in New York City on behalf of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations.
Welcoming remarks were made by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information,
followed by H.E. Ambassador V. Kuchinsky (see below), and Mr. Askold Lozynskyj, President of the World Congress of Ukrainians.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Tharoor said that the term "Holodomor" has now become part of the UN's lexicon.
The exhibition shall remain open to the public through Wednesday, November 19, 2003. It is located in the Visitor's Lobby (47th St. and 1st Ave.) near the Tour Desk.
Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Valeriy Kuchynsky
at the unveiling ceremony
of the Great Famine Memorial Exhibit
(10 November 2003)
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ambassador Valeriy Kuchynsky
Brochure cover
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I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor for his kind introduction and important remarks dedicated to the 70th Anniversary of the Great Man-Made Famine in Ukraine of 1932-33 (Holodomor).
Through you, dear Mr. Tharoor, I wish to convey our gratitude to the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to the Secretariat staff for the valuable support in our efforts to present this exhibit to the United Nations membership.
I would like to welcome here H.E. Mr. Julian Hunte, President of the 58th session of the United Nations, and his distinguished colleagues, former General Assembly Presidents.
We have gathered here to commemorate the tragic event.
In 1932-33 more than seven million Ukrainian men, women and children were perished in the dreadful famine, engineered by the totalitarian Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin.
By its magnitude, the Holodomor (literally, "murder by hunger") became a catastrophe, which is not rivaled in the history of Ukraine. As a clear act of genocide it was a horrific example of the state terrorism against the independent peasantry as the backbone of the Ukrainian nation, followed by repressions against its national intellectual elite and priests.
At the time very little news of the famine ever reached the world.
Still the tragedy remains practically unknown within the international community, and the longstanding process of its worldwide recognition continues.
This year Ukraine called upon the international community to join our nation in a grand scale commemoration of the Great Famine victims. Having received a favorable response from many countries, we are grateful to them for sharing our pain and memory.
The Famine Remembrance Week was opened today by the International conference at the Columbia University of New York City. Also today the Delegation of Ukraine declared the Joint Statement on the 70th Anniversary of Holodomor, cosponsored by scores of Member States.
The Statement will be distributed as an official document of the United Nations General Assembly.
The crime of Holodomor should not be forgotten.
It is in this spirit that we unveil today the exhibition, based on the former Soviet archives and documentary facts, which, I hope, will shed light on one of the worst cases of man's inhumanity towards man.
Doing so, we do not intend to avenge the past. We are convinced that exposing violations of human rights, preserving historical records and restoring the dignity of victims by recognising their suffering, will help the international community avoid similar catastrophes in the future.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish to conclude my brief remarks by expressing the most sincere gratitude to the Ukrainian Museum in New York City for creating this exhibition.
In particular, I would like to commend the exhibit's Academic advisor, Prof. Taras Hunczak of Rutgers University and the President of the Museum's Board of Trustees, Mrs. Olha Hnateyko. I wish to pay tribute to Mrs. Maria Shust, Museum's Director, as well as to Mrs. Chrystyna Pevna, Mrs. Romanna Labrousse and all their talented colleagues for their dedication, energy and enormous contribution to our common goal.
Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, United Nations
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H.E. Mr. Julian Hunte, President of the 58th session of the United Nations; H.E. Mr. V. Kuchinsky; Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, former President of the United Nations General Assembly.
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Mr. Askold Lozynskyj, President of the World Congress of Ukrainians
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Dr. James Mace and Natalia Dziubenko
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Amb. V. Kuchinsky; Serhiy Pohoreltsev, Consul General in New York; Mr. H. Udovenko
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Mrs. Olha Hnateyko, President of the Board of Directors of The Ukrainian Museum; Amb. Kuchinsky; Maria Shust, Director of The Ukrainian Museum
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Marta Baczynskyj, Consultant, THe Ukrainian Museum; M.Shust; H.Krill (Brama); Danylo Lupkivskyj, Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN
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Mrs. Alla Kuchinsky, M.Shust
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Orysia Woloszyn, Program Manager for the Int'l Division of the New York State Dept. of Economic Development; S.Pohoreltsev
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From The Ukrainian Museum: Mrs. Romanna Labrousse, Mrs. Chrystyna Pevna, M.Shust
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Mr. Michael Sawkiw, President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA); Tamara Gallo, Director of the UCCA; Amb. Kuchinsky; M.Shust; C.Pevny
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