Bill Text: TX SCR16 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Designating November as Ukrainian Genocide Remembrance Month for a 10-year period beginning in 2023.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-04-10 - Referred to State Affairs [SCR16 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SCR16-Engrossed.html
| By: Parker | S.C.R. No. 16 | |
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| WHEREAS, Each November, individuals around the globe mark the | ||
| somber anniversary of the Holodomor, the brutal and systematic | ||
| starvation inflicted on the Ukrainian people by Joseph Stalin's | ||
| Soviet regime in 1932 and 1933, an atrocity that resulted in the | ||
| deaths of millions of people; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the years following the formation of the Soviet | ||
| Union, political and ethnic tensions remained high in Ukraine, and | ||
| a series of independence movements and revolts occurred throughout | ||
| the 1920s, threatening Soviet rule; in response, the Stalinist | ||
| government sought to erode the Ukrainian national identity and | ||
| quash any resistance; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Beginning in 1932, an artificial famine was created | ||
| when Soviet officials greatly increased farm quotas and confiscated | ||
| livestock, grain, and other crops; residents were confined to the | ||
| region and purposefully left to starve, even as the Soviets | ||
| continued to export locally grown grain to other areas; in | ||
| addition, Ukrainian intellectual, cultural, and religious leaders | ||
| were targeted for arrest and execution; and | ||
| WHEREAS, While estimates vary, it is thought that between 3.5 | ||
| and 10 million Ukrainians perished in the Holodomor, a term meaning | ||
| "murder by starvation"; moreover, those who spoke out about the | ||
| true nature of the famine were prosecuted or executed; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Holodomor has been recognized as an act of | ||
| genocide by the United States Senate and the U.S. Commission on the | ||
| Ukrainian Famine, as well as by legislative bodies in Australia, | ||
| Canada, Mexico, Poland, and numerous other nations; and | ||
| WHEREAS, With the threat of genocide and tyranny still | ||
| present in our world, this horrific episode in human history offers | ||
| warnings that remain strikingly relevant, and it is incumbent upon | ||
| the global community to learn from the past in order to prevent | ||
| similar atrocities from occurring in the future; now, therefore, be | ||
| it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby designate the month of November as Ukrainian Genocide | ||
| Remembrance Month and urge the state's residents to reflect on the | ||
| Holodomor and honor the memory of those who perished; and, be it | ||
| further | ||
| RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||
| 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect | ||
| until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally | ||
| passed by the legislature. | ||
