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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Each November, individuals around the globe mark the |
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| 6 | 7 | | somber anniversary of the Holodomor, the brutal and systematic |
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| 7 | 8 | | starvation inflicted on the Ukrainian people by Joseph Stalin's |
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| 8 | 9 | | Soviet regime in 1932 and 1933, an atrocity that resulted in the |
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| 9 | 10 | | deaths of millions of people; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, In the years following the formation of the Soviet |
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| 11 | 12 | | Union, political and ethnic tensions remained high in Ukraine, and |
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| 12 | 13 | | a series of independence movements and revolts occurred throughout |
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| 13 | 14 | | the 1920s, threatening Soviet rule; in response, the Stalinist |
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| 14 | 15 | | government sought to erode the Ukrainian national identity and |
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| 15 | 16 | | quash any resistance; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, Beginning in 1932, an artificial famine was created |
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| 17 | 18 | | when Soviet officials greatly increased farm quotas and confiscated |
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| 18 | 19 | | livestock, grain, and other crops; residents were confined to the |
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| 19 | 20 | | region and purposefully left to starve, even as the Soviets |
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| 20 | 21 | | continued to export locally grown grain to other areas; in |
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| 21 | 22 | | addition, Ukrainian intellectual, cultural, and religious leaders |
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| 22 | 23 | | were targeted for arrest and execution; and |
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| 23 | 24 | | WHEREAS, While estimates vary, it is thought that between 3.5 |
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| 24 | 25 | | and 10 million Ukrainians perished in the Holodomor, a term meaning |
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| 25 | 26 | | "murder by starvation"; moreover, those who spoke out about the |
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| 26 | 27 | | true nature of the famine were prosecuted or executed; and |
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| 27 | 28 | | WHEREAS, The Holodomor has been recognized as an act of |
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| 28 | 29 | | genocide by the United States Senate and the U.S. Commission on the |
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| 29 | 30 | | Ukrainian Famine, as well as by legislative bodies in Australia, |
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| 30 | 31 | | Canada, Mexico, Poland, and numerous other nations; and |
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| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, With the threat of genocide and tyranny still |
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| 32 | 33 | | present in our world, this horrific episode in human history offers |
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| 33 | 34 | | warnings that remain strikingly relevant, and it is incumbent upon |
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| 34 | 35 | | the global community to learn from the past in order to prevent |
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| 35 | 36 | | similar atrocities from occurring in the future; now, therefore, be |
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| 36 | 37 | | it |
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| 37 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 38 | 39 | | Legislature hereby recognize November 2021 as Ukrainian Genocide |
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| 39 | 40 | | Remembrance Month and urge the state's residents to reflect on the |
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| 40 | 41 | | Holodomor and honor the memory of those who perished. |
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