UKRAINE ACCUSES RUSSIA OF FORCING FAMINE ISSUE OUT OF UN AGENDA 

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0818 gmt 24 Oct 08
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, October 24, 2008

KIEV - The Russian Federation, using "pressure and blackmail", attempts to deny Ukraine its right to submit the issue of the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine [Holodomor] for consideration by the UN General Assembly.

The press service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine told the UNIAN news agency that on 23 October 2008 the General Committee of the UN General Assembly, after a heated debate, refused to put the issue of the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine on the agenda of the current session of the UN General Assembly.
"The Russian Federation, using its levers of influence as a permanent UN Security Council member, through direct pressure and blackmail, attempts to deny a country-member of the UN [Ukraine] of its right to put an important issue on the agenda of the UN, which is the most representative international organization. These actions contradict the very letter and spirit of the UN Charter and the procedure of the General Assembly," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the counter-productive stance of Russia contradicts the approach of the world community in evaluating the famine.

"This has been reflected in the resolution on commemorating the victims of the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine, unanimously adopted by the European Parliament on 23 October 2008. The resolution recognizes the famine as a 'terrible crime against Ukrainians' and 'the crime against humanity'.

The resolution also condoles Ukrainian people who suffered from the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine," the ministry said. The work on putting the issue of the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine on the UN General Assembly's agenda continues.