| |
|
|
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, Each November, individuals around the globe mark the |
|
|
somber anniversary of the Holodomor, the brutal and systematic |
|
|
starvation inflicted on the Ukrainian people by Joseph Stalin's |
|
|
Soviet regime in 1932 and 1933, an atrocity that resulted in the |
|
|
deaths of millions of people; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the years following the formation of the Soviet |
|
|
Union, political and ethnic tensions remained high in Ukraine, and |
|
|
a series of independence movements and revolts occurred throughout |
|
|
the 1920s, threatening Soviet rule; in response, the Stalinist |
|
|
government sought to erode the Ukrainian national identity and |
|
|
quash any resistance; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Beginning in 1932, an artificial famine was created |
|
|
when Soviet officials greatly increased farm quotas and confiscated |
|
|
livestock, grain, and other crops; residents were confined to the |
|
|
region and purposefully left to starve, even as the Soviets |
|
|
continued to export locally grown grain to other areas; in |
|
|
addition, Ukrainian intellectual, cultural, and religious leaders |
|
|
were targeted for arrest and execution; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, While estimates vary, it is thought that between 3.5 |
|
|
and 10 million Ukrainians perished in the Holodomor, a term meaning |
|
|
"murder by starvation"; moreover, those who spoke out about the |
|
|
true nature of the famine were prosecuted or executed; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Holodomor has been recognized as an act of |
|
|
genocide by the United States Senate and the U.S. Commission on the |
|
|
Ukrainian Famine, as well as by legislative bodies in Australia, |
|
|
Canada, Mexico, Poland, and numerous other nations; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, With the threat of genocide and tyranny still |
|
|
present in our world, this horrific episode in human history offers |
|
|
warnings that remain strikingly relevant, and it is incumbent upon |
|
|
the global community to learn from the past in order to prevent |
|
|
similar atrocities from occurring in the future; now, therefore, be |
|
|
it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby designate the month of November as Ukrainian Genocide |
|
|
Remembrance Month and urge the state's residents to reflect on the |
|
|
Holodomor and honor the memory of those who perished; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
|
|
391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
|
|
until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
|
|
passed by the legislature. |
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * |