Romania and Belarus' opposition recognized Holodomor as a genocide of Ukrainians

Stalin’s artificial famine may have killed up to 10 million Ukrainians in 1932-1933
Stalin’s artificial famine may have killed up to 10 million Ukrainians in 1932-1933

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The Parliament of Romania approved the decision with 248 votes "for" and one "abstention", according to Romanian news agency Agepress.

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The declaration recognizes the Holodomor as a crime committed against Ukrainian people and humanity. The document sharply condemns this act against the Ukrainian people, which caused millions of deaths, mass violations of basic human rights and freedoms, and great suffering.

The declaration also expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian people and pays tribute to victims of the man-made famine in Ukraine  of 1932-1933.

Romanian lawmaker Alexandru Muraru noted before the voting that it would be a historical decision that allows Romania joint the democratic and dignified states of the world who not only commemorate of the victims of the 1932-1933 Terror Famine, but also recognize "systematic direct genocide acts of Soviet Union's leaders against Ukraine" and other national minorities.

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"The Holodomor was a unique murder on the territory of the Soviet Union in (terms of) the scale, pace, and nature of the crimes committed by the leaders and institutions of the Soviet Union,” Muraru said.

“In the early 1930s, the courage and determination of Ukrainians to resist collectivization provoked unbridled hatred of the totalitarian system. Historians have estimated that in the early 1930s there were more than 4,000 revolts and local uprisings against collectivization, taxation, terror, and violence by the Soviet authorities. ... The loss of human life amounted to about 10 million victims. The actual number will never be known.”

Muraru also recalled the current situation in Ukraine, saying that the Russian invasion had thrown Europe back 90 years.

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The United Transitional Cabinet, an alternative government for Belarus headed by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, also passed a resolution recognizing the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.

“We resolve to recognize the criminal policy of the communist state towards the people of Ukraine, which led to the man-made famine of 1932-1933, as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people and a crime against humanity,” the document states.

The resolution stressed that the mass famine in Belarus in 1932-1933 was the result of Soviet policy in Ukraine.

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"It's one more historical connection between Belarusian and Ukrainian people that demonstrates the consistency of the crimninal policies the Soviet Union's pursued against national republics,” the Belarusian opposition wrote.

“The Soviet crimes against the Ukrainian and Belarusian people in the 20th century include the elimination of national intelligentsia, and mass abductions and famine, to name just a few.”

The document pledges the full support and solidarity with Ukrainian people, who "suffered from this hideous policy in the interwar period of history."

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"We strongly condemn the consequences of the crimes of the Bolshevik government against the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples, which was aimed at the destruction of their national elites and gene pool,” the Joint Transitional Cabinet of Belarus said.

“We affirm that a decent future for the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples will be possible only as a result of a consistent policy of decommunization and a return to national values.”

This year in April The Parliament of the Czech Republic unanimously recognised the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.

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Before that, 15 countries together with Ukraine had recognized the Holodomor artificial famine of 1932-1933as an act of genocide against Ukrainian people.

Ukraine commemorates the victims of the Holodomor on the fourth Saturday of November.

Ukraine went through three great famines in the 20th century: 1921-1922, 1932-1933 and 1946-1947, with 1932-1933 being the worst. The number of victims is estimated at from seven to ten million according to different sources.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine