SBU names 1932-1933 artificial famine organizers

November27200920:25

SBU prosecutors may send the criminal case on the 1932-1933 Holodomor in Ukraine to court by the end of 2009, SBU Director Valentyn Nalyvajchenko said Nov. 27, speaking on the 5th Kanal.

“We will publicize the names of those officials who orchestrated the crime of genocide against Ukrainians,” the SBU director said.

SBU prosecutors point to top officials in the Ukrainian Bolshevik party as organizers of the Holodomor, he said. The prosecution allowed me to release the names of suspects, Nalyvajchenko assured.

1.Stanislav Kosior, the Bolshevik party of Ukraine secretary.

2. Pavel Postyshev, who was sent by Stalin and Molotov to head the Kharkiv oblast, making it one of the worst famine-hit areas of Ukraine.

3.Vlas Chubar, one of the people’s commissars of Ukraine.

We have to prove the guilt of these people in court. Following this, these persons must be condemned and stripped of any privileges, Nalyvajchenko continued.

When the Holodomor organizers are proved guilty, the central government is to oblige local governments to dismantle the monuments to these individuals, he added.

Answering a question whether a court may give its verdict with regard to deceased persons [the three suspects are long dead], the SBU director said the crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations.

He also confirmed the criminal case will be declassified.

Meanwhile, Ukraine will commemorate the Holodomor victims on Nov. 28.

The Kyiv administration will light up 30,000 candles on the slopes of the hills facing the memorial to the Holodomor victims. The candles will burn for 16 hours, city officials say.

In a related move, Ukraine will remember the famine victims with a minute of silence at 16.00 on November 28.

In 2006, Verkhovna Rada recognized the 1932-1933 famine as the genocide of Ukrainians.

According to various estimates, the death toll from the Holodomor stands at between 3 and 7 million.