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	FAMINE AND POLITICAL REPRESSIONS MEMORIAL CONCERT HELD IN KYIV, UKRAINE ON THE OFFICIAL "DAY OF MEMORY" SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2002
	Kyiv News Bureau ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS) Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, November 24, 2002 KYIV, UKRAINE....A special "Day of Memory" memorial concert was held to honor the millions of victims of the 1932-1933 great famine-genocide and political repressions in Ukraine at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv on Saturday evening the twenty-third of November, 2002. On November 26, 1998 the president of Ukraine established by decree a "Day of Memory in honor of the Famine Victims" that was to be the fourth Saturday of November each year. On October 31, 2000 the presidential decree was amended to state that the special "Day of Memory" In Ukraine would also be in honor of the millions of victims of political repressions. A crowd of around 1,000 persons gathered for the solemn event. The Day of Memory concert was organized by the government of Ukraine. The Kyivska Camerata Orchestra performing at the memorial concert in Kyiv ArtUkraine.com photo (Click on images to enlarge them) The famous Ukrainian singer Nina Matvienko ArtUkraine.com photo Volodymyr Lytvyn, speaker of Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), gave a brief opening speech in which he described the history of Ukraine as bloody and said far too much blood has been spilled. Speaker Lytvyn announced that a special parliamentary hearing will be held in the near future on the 1932-1933 famine. Lytvyn said that he personally does not see any other option for the government but to finally and officially define the famine as a planned genocide of the Ukrainian people. In addition to Volodymyr Lytvyn, those in attendance for the memorial concert included the Vice Prime Minister for Culture and the Arts, Volodymyr Semynozhenko, and several members of the Rada (parliament). RADA members included Levko Lukianenko of the Yulia Tymoshenko political bloc who is also the chairman of the Ukraine Famines Researchers Association, and Les' Taniuk of the Victor Yushchenko political bloc Nasha Ukrayina. The Kyivska Camerata Orchestra and the famous singer Nina Matvienko performed several pieces by Ukrainian composers Yevhen Sverstiuk, Yuriy Kiva, and Myroslav Skoryk dedicated to victims of the famine and political repressions. The widely known Hryhoriy Veriovka Folklore Choir and Orchestra closed the memorial concert with a prayer for Ukraine 'Bozhe Velykyi Yedynyi' by Mykola Lysenko and with the Ukrainian anthem 'Shche Ne Vmerla Ukrayina'. The Hryhoriy Veriovka Folklore Choir and Orchestra perform the national anthem "Shche Ne Vmerla Ukrayina" ArtUkraine.com photo

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