UN General Assembly
2008

on democratic values, open dialogue with all partners of different cultures, and unconditional respect for fundamental human rights. I have the honour to appeal to the world community with a request for solidarity. This year Ukraine will mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Great Famine — the Holodomor, which took the lives of about 10 million of our compatriots. Our intention is not directed against any people or State. We neither overstate nor understate our sorrow. The tenor of hunger in Ukraine was oriented towards genocide and was accompanied by the total elimination of the national elite, the public leadership and the priesthood. The goal was to overpower a nation of millions, because, according to the regime, there were too many people to displace to Siberia. It is important that our steps encourage other countries of the former Soviet Union to find the truth. We share the pain of all the people affected — Russians, Belarusians, Kazakhs and dozens of other nations. We invite a joint commemoration of each national tragedy and no toleration of new attempts to