madam president artificial man-made famines were used systematically as a tool by communist totalitarian regimes
seventy-five years ago stalin decided to uproot the ukrainian national identity and resistance by creating such a famine in the very bread-basket of europe
regions struck by famine were not merely denied assistance
even worse hundreds of villages were cordoned off by the red army
starving people were denied the most elementary human right the right to escape from certain death
people who tried to flee were hunted down like wild animals and shot
only today are we reacting to one of the most appalling crimes by the communist dictatorship
an authoritative assessment of such crimes is long overdue
all victims of the crimes against humanity deserve the same status
there cannot be first-class nazi victims or second-class victims of communism just because europe still lacks an integrated approach to all totalitarian regimes and has hesitated to take a concrete stand on crimes that took place in the eastern part of the continent
we have a duty to know what happened under stalin just as well as we know what happened under hitler
we need to extend not only our solidarity to the ukrainian nation and indeed to all nations that have suffered under totalitarian crimes but also to pass a moral verdict
only in this way can we reach the goal of these debates to guarantee that this monumental destructive disregard for human lives and dignity will never be repeated in any part of europe
we need an all-european reconciliation a reconciliation that can result only from truth and justice
our duty is to make sure that the famous never again will equally apply to the ukrainian nation
