30 November 2009
New York, NY (UCCA) – On Monday, November 23rd, in the presence of many United Nations diplomats, an archival photo exhibit dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine opened at the United Nations. The evening’s event also took the opportunity to honor the distinguished legal scholar, Raphael Lemkin, and the courageous journalist Gareth Jones.
Hosted by Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the United States, HE Yuriy Sergeyev, opened the event by solemnly paying tribute to the millions of innocent victims who perished during the Holodomor of 1932-1933 and thanking the diplomats in attendance for their “solidarity, sympathy and participation.” He stated that “We are confident that through such commemorations we are achieving [our] main goal – avoiding similar crimes in the future.”
Thanking the Congress Committee of America for preparing the exhibit, Ambassador Sergeyev then introduced Ivanka Zajac, President of the UCCA New York City Branch. After briefly relaying the horrors of the Holodomor, Ms. Zajac described the display stating that the archival photos were recently released by the KGB and the exhibit was “prepared to expose the true nature of the totalitarian Soviet regime which resulted in the 1932-1933 famine.” She continued stating that the panels are “displayed in chronological order to provide the viewer with an overall picture of the motives and methods used to kill up to 10 million innocent men, women and children… in the hopes that this educational exhibit will shed light on one of darkest pages of Ukraine’s history… and perhaps the most extreme example of the use of food as a weapon.”
The program continued with the Ambassador’s introduction of Nigel Colley, the grand nephew of Gareth Jones, “the fearless, uncompromising Welsh journalist who traveled to Ukraine during the Holodomor.” Thanking Dr. Colley for his work, the Ambassador emphasized that a “huge part of this tragic history would have been lost forever” had Gareth not recorded his findings in his personal diaries.
Mr. Colley opened his remarks stating that just last week 180 newspapers across the world reported the remarkable story of Gareth Jones and his graphic eyewitness accounts of his off-limits trek into Ukraine during the height of Moscow’s starvation of that country. After reading excerpts from Gareth’s diaries, Dr. Colley stated, “Gareth’s accounts are preserved in his journalist’s diaries which probably now represent the only surviving contemporary independent western verification of that genocide.”
The evening’s program also paid tribute to the memory of Dr. Raphael Lemkin, the distinguished legal scholar who authored the term genocide and was the father of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. Dr. Lemkin’s work was honored by a recently released book Raphael Lemkin: Soviet Genocide in Ukraine published by the International Charitable Foundation Ukraine 3000. The book is of unique character, as it highlights only one of Dr. Lemkin’s speeches – his 1953 remarks delivered in New York City to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Holodomor - translated into 28 languages, with a foreword written by Professor Roman Serbyn.
Ambassdor then invited Mr. Oleksandr Maksymchuk, Head of the Board of Directors of the Foundation and Professor Roman Serbyn, to the podium.
Following the reading of the official greeting from Kateryna Yushchenko, Ukraine’s First Lady and Head of the Supervisory Board of the International Charitable Foundation "Ukraine 3000", Mr. Maksymchuk thanked the Representatives of Ukrainian Embassies in different countries, private translators and volunteers for their help in making the publication of this book possible. He concluded, “Publication of this book is another step in bringing the truth to the Ukrainian and world public opinion about the tragic events in Ukraine’s history. Such direction is a priority in the work of our Foundation "Ukraine 3000"… We have done a lot, but our work does not end. It will last until we investigate all historical facts, record all evidence of survivors, honor the names of all the victims and until we tell everyone the truth about the crimes of the communist Soviet regime.
The UCCA New York City B ranch exhibit, consisting of twelve, 8-foot panels, depicting the horrors of the Holodomor are on display in the prestigious Kuwait Boat Area the main diplomatic entrance of the United Nations Headquarters, through December 4, 2009.
