Ukrainian "Fight" Movement on Volyn Massacre: Days of Remembrance and Shame
KYIV, Ukraine, July 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
A date of particular importance for Ukrainian history is approaching. Seventy years ago on our soil, an ethnic cleansing took place, fatal to tens of thousands of people. The nationalist troops of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), operating under political and ideological leadership of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), ordered the liquidation of the Polish population in the Volyn region.
Thousands of ethnic Ukrainians were also the victims of this cleansing - including spouses in mixed marriages, those professing Catholicism or simply those who did not share the views of Ukrainian nationalists.
In Ukraine there is a tendency to gloss over this terrible date, as the anniversary of Volyn massacre is an 'inconvenient' memory. Current Ukrainian politicians would wish to see Ukraine forget this crime as soon as possible. Moreover, they are trying to portray people who are responsible for these brutal mass murders of civilians as Ukrainian national heroes. Those responsible for these crimes are exactly the UIA and OUN leaders, who are now canonized by Ukrainian nationalists.
The "Freedom" party in Ukraine, supporting xenophobic and nationalistic policies and receiving great support in Western Ukraine, had a resounding success in the recent Ukrainian parliamentary elections. "Freedom" does not only justify the Volyn executioners - but also sets their actions as examples to the new generations of Ukrainians.
Unfortunately, the country leadership turns a blind eye to the attempts to stop short the Volyn tragedy remembrance. The government of Yanukovych and Azarov is not doing anything to showcase the truth to Ukrainian society about the events that took place seventy years ago. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reacted very negatively to the resolution put forward by the Polish Parliament, to commemorate the victims of this ethnic cleansing. However, millions of Ukrainians remember the bloody crimes of the UIA, and honour the memory of those who died. These days are the days of our mournful memory and the days of the eternal shame for Ukrainian Nationalists.
The "Fight" movement demands the Ukrainian Parliament and Ukrainian Government recognize the Volyn massacre as a genocide of the Polish population in Ukraine, placing the responsibility for the crime on the band Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and on the Ukrainian Insurgency Army under their control.
We demand the memory to the victims of Volyn massacre to be immortalized in Kyiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Kovel as well as in other cities of Ukraine and 11th July to be declared the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of nationalism.
"Fight" Movement, Kyiv 03.07.2013
"Fight" Movement is a Ukrainian socialist party. The political organisation was founded on 2nd May 2011 and on 2nd May 2013 the movement became a political party promoting socialist ideology.
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