In Greece, unidentified people attacked a rally in memory of Holodomor victims

In the Greek town of Mandra, a group of people with communist symbols attacked representatives of the Ukrainian community. The clash took place near the monument to Taras Shevchenko at the moment when Ukrainians came to the monument to honour the memory of the victims of genocide - the 1932-1933 famine arranged by the communist regime. The corresponding statement was published on the official page of the Ukrainian embassy. Also about it wrote HuffPost and the newspaper Thriasio.

It is indicated that the action of remembrance at this place is held annually as a sign of Greek-Ukrainian friendship.

This time, members of the Communist Party of Greece gathered in the neighbouring square. They shouted anti-Ukrainian slogans and called Ukrainians fascists.

At a certain moment a clash arose between the communists and representatives of the Ukrainian community. The police fired tear gas.

A Ukrainian diplomat was injured during the attack.

UGCC priest Ihor Posolenyk quoted participants of the rally as saying that children and adults from Ukrainian church, educational and cultural organisations came to the event at the Shevchenko monument. According to him, the communists behaved aggressively.

This incident came as a shock to the community, especially considering that the attack took place at an event that was supposed to emphasise the importance of remembering the tragedies of the past," Father Ihor said.

We would like to point out that in its statement, the CHP called the commemoration of the Holodomor victims a non-historical anti-communist rally, accusing the municipal authorities of the Mandra-Idillia municipality of organising the commemoration.

The CHP also said that it was against "dragging the country into an imperialist war", referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and against the "falsification of history", and called on the authorities to "deal with the real problems of local residents".

The Embassy of Ukraine protested against the aggressive actions and provocations against the participants of the Ukrainian community rally, noting that the attackers were members of the Communist Party of Greece.

The Embassy strongly condemns the disgraceful disruption of the commemorative event, which has deep historical and emotional significance for the Ukrainian people. This provocation, which culminated in physical attacks - including an attack on a Ukrainian diplomat who was injured - is totally unacceptable and constitutes a blatant violation of international norms protecting diplomatic personnel," the statement said.

The embassy called on Greece to ensure a proper investigation into the incident.

The Holodomor of 1932-1933 was an artificial mass famine that resulted in many millions of human casualties. Then 7 million people died of starvation. In Ukraine and the world Holodomor is perceived as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people, instigated by the government of the USSR.

In 2006, Ukraine recognised the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada asked democratic states to recognise the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

By the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a number of states had already recognised the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainians, including Australia, Georgia, Ecuador, Estonia, Canada, Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, USA, Hungary, Portugal, as well as the Vatican.

In 2022-2023, the process of recognising the Holodomor as genocide intensified - the Czech Republic, Belgium, Moldova, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Iceland, France, Slovenia, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Croatia, Italy, 34 US states, as well as the European Parliament and PACE recognised it.