Victims of Holodomor commemorated in Moldovan capital

Chisinau, 23 November /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Parliament Speaker  Mihail Popsoi today participated in a ceremony on the commemoration of the victims of Holodomor, titled, Light the Candle of Memory. The event marks 90 years since the Holodomor – a famine organized by the Soviet authorities in Ukraine (in the 1932-1933 and 1946-1947 years), as well as on the current territory of Moldova (1946-1947).   

MPs, representatives of the diplomatic corps, state institutions, members of the civil society, Ukrainians’ communities of Moldova and from abroad took part in the commemoration ceremony.  

In his message, the deputy parliament speaker condemned the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian nation through the organization of the famine in Ukraine. ‘’Today, we commemorate 90 years since the forcible starvation of our Ukrainian neighbours and friends and only one year since the adoption of the declaration by Moldova’s parliament, which recognizes this forcible starvation. Moldova’s parliament ascertained a terrible reality, about which quite many of us knew from grand-parents and great grand-parents, because Moldova, regretfully, also suffered in the wake of the forcible starvation and collectivization, in the wake of the genocide organized by the Soviet regime. If the entire society was aware of these horrible things, maybe we would have lived in another world today,’’ Deputy Parliament Speaker Mihail Popsoi said. The deputy parliament speaker also said that, only keeping alive the memory of those who had suffered in the wake of the tragic events, speaking and analyzing these deeds openly, we can hope that they would never repeat.         

The participants in the ceremony lighted candles and stood silent for one minute in the memory of the victims of the organized famine which took place in Ukraine. They also watched a documentary telling about the Holodomor and the evidence of the people who survived that horror.     

The event was organized by the National Congress of Ukrainians and the Community of Ukrainian Women from Moldova, with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in Chisinau and the United Nations Refugee Agency.  

Starting from 2006, Ukraine has been annually commemorating the victims of the Holodomor on the fourth Saturday of November. The Holodomor was recognized as an act of genocide and was condemned by 64 UN member countries, the OSCE member states and the UNESCO.