Canada to recognize Ukrainian famine as a genocide

Tuesday, May. 13 2008 6:27 PM ET

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Canada is poised to formally recognize as a genocide the 1930s famine in Ukraine that claimed millions of lives.

A senior government official tells The Canadian Press that Conservative MPs are planning to support a private member's bill introduced by Manitoba Tory MP James Bezan.

It's a shift from last fall when a government official said they had no plans to recognize the deaths as a genocide.

Liberal and NDP members have pledged support for the bill, which would also set aside an annual memorial day in November.

More than a dozen countries, including the United States, already formally recognize the famine as a deliberate attempt by the Soviet regime of Josef Stalin to eliminate ethnic Ukrainians and end their aspirations for independence.

But some academics -- and many Russians -- disagree.

But what else is new with Russia which remains in a state of denial about the horrific crimes their predecessors inflicted on millions of people throughout Eastern Europe and Asia, click here to see why.