“My visit is also symbolic. Today, at the 85th anniversary since those tragic events, we commemorate the victims of the Holodomor. The same as Ukraine, Latvia suffered from the crimes of the Stalinist regime. Therefore, we support Ukraine’s efforts to bring about historical justice and to achieve international condemnation of the genocide against the people of Ukraine. Already back in 2008, Latvia recognised the Holodomor as genocide committed against the people of Ukraine,” stressed Raimonds Vējonis when addressing the audience of the Holodomor Memorial Forum “Ukraine Remembers, the World Acknowledges”.
After the Forum, the President of Latvia and the President of Ukraine, as well as other officials visited the Holodomor Victims Memorial, where they laid flowers to the sculpture “The Bitter Memory of Childhood”. The President of Latvia also participated in the requiem commemorating the victims of the famine in 1932-1933.
The President of Latvia pays an official visit to Ukraine from November 23 to November 25.
* Holodomor was a massive man-made famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 when the Soviet authorities took away food from Ukrainian farmers. These Stalinist repressions were directed against the wealthiest part of the Ukrainian society to destroy “Ukrainian nationalism” and the desire for greater self-determination. According to various estimations, 3.5-7.5 million Ukrainians died because of starvation. In 2008, the Saeima recognised the Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people.
