ROCHDALE has become the first town in the UK to honour the victims of a barbaric Soviet famine that claimed the lives of millions.
A memorial stone has been unveiled to mark the Holodomor genocide — an enforced starvation over 18 months between 1932 to 1933 which claimed the lives of at least seven million Ukrainians under Joseph Stalin’s regime.
The memorial stone was unveiled during a ceremony at the memorial gardens opposite Rochdale Town Hall on Friday.
Organised by Rochdale Council, Rochdale Friends of Lviv and the Ukrainian community, the ceremony was part of a tribute to commemorate the victims of the genocide – one of the most brutal acts carried out by the Soviet leader.
As well as becoming the first town to honour the victims, Rochdale became the first council in the country to recognise the Holodomor as an act of genocide last year, when it put through a motion in honour of its 75th anniversary.
The moving ceremony, attended by Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, the mayor Councillor Keith Swift, the ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Dr Ihor Kharchenko and other dignitaries, saw members of Rochdale’s Ukrainian community come together at the newly unveiled stone.
Prayers were given, wreaths were laid by Councillor Swift, Dr Kharchenko and Holodomor survivor Oksana Paraszczak and a minute’s silence was held to remember the victims.
The stone was unveiled by Councillor Swift, Dr Kharchenko and Zenko Lastowiecki, president of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.
Ambassador Dr Kharachenko said: "As Ukrainians all around the world come together to remember this occasion, I am grateful that Rochdale has recognised this atrocity by unveiling this stone. It will give many generations a chance to learn about what happened and why it is such a sad part of Ukraine's history."
Mr Rowen has been an active campaigner for the Holodomor genocide to be widely recognised by the UK Government.
Speaking at the memorial, he said: "This memorial is dedicated to the Ukrainian community in Rochdale, who have been here since the Second World War and who have contributed so much to Rochdale’s heritage and culture."
Rochdale has been twinned with the Ukrainian town Lviv since 1992.
Earlier this year, Anna Kecyk, chairman of Rochdale Friends of Lviv, was presented with a medal by the Ambassador of Ukraine, at a ceremony at the Ukrainian Embassy in London, in recognition of her work to have the Holodomor formally acknowledged as genocide by the council and government.
Anna, who gave the opening address at the ceremony, said: "I’m so proud that Rochdale is the first town in the UK to recognise this. It allows us to commemorate a tragic chapter in Ukraine’s history."
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MarXPacE, Sheriff Street (25/11/2009 at 10:17)
Stig of the Dump (25/11/2009 at 11:02)
I hope the politicians respect this memorial rather than try to score some cheap political points at each other.
MarXPacE, Sheriff Street (25/11/2009 at 12:19)
In 2006, the Holodomor Remembrance Day took place on November 25. President Viktor Yushchenko directed, in decree No. 868/2006, that a minute of silence should be observed at 4 o'clock in the afternoon on that Saturday. The document specified that flags in Ukraine should fly at half-staff as a sign of mourning. In addition, the decree directed that entertainment events are to be restricted and television and radio programming adjusted accordingly.[71]
In 2007, the 74th anniversary of the Holodomor was commemorated in Kiev for three days on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti. As part of the three day event, from November 23-25th, video testimonies of the communist regime's crimes in Ukraine, and documentaries by famous domestic and foreign film directors are being shown. Additionally, experts and scholars gave lectures on the topic.[72] Additionally, on November 23, 2007, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a set of two commemorative coins remembering the Holodomor.[73]
As of September 2009, Ukrainian schoolchildren will take a more extensive course of the history
Henry Kelly, Ireland (26/11/2009 at 02:09)