74 years passed since the terrible events at Babi Yar had happened. On the morning at September 29 a huge number of people came to the Park to lay flowers and honor the memory of the executed. Politicians, diplomats, public figures, deputies, journalists and, of course, representatives of all Jewish communities and organizations.
After the official laying flowers ceremony a meeting of Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk with representatives of the executive authorities , MPs, members of the Ukrainian-Israeli inter-parliamentary Commission, heads of all Jewish organizations in Ukraine was held. As
Honorary Consul of Israel in the Western region of Ukraine, I was invited to the meeting.
The Prime Minister’s speech was a very harsh and categorical. This approach and the mood can be understood. Babi Yar is almost a sacred place, not only for the Jews. Since the last year the Park was crashed by number of vandal attacks – defilement of minors, desecration of monuments, the painting of swastikas, burning tires, etc. It’s not possible to turn a blind eye. The Prime Minister ordered the interior Ministry to establish the surveillance cameras and permanent police post in the Park.
Provocations on the grounds of anti-Semitism and attempts to incite ethnic conflicts are happening too regularly and too obviously to be just bullying. Most likely is a well-thought-out stocks included "propaganda policy" of external enemy of Ukraine.
Today our tasks are to stop these attempts, and to carry the memory of the Babyn Yar tragedy through the generations. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk has supported the initiative of holding separate lessons on the Holocaust and Babi Yar in every Ukrainian school. Babi Yar is a part of the history of Ukraine and our children need to know even such bloody pages of their history.
The beautification of the Park, along with its round the clock security was also announced as one of the priority tasks. There will be a competition to design organizations for the best reconstruction idea of the Park in the near future. It is planned to create the Museum of Babi Yar, the memory alley of the Righteous of the World (2450 of which are Ukrainians).
The meeting was very businesslike and productive. I hope that the results will not keep us waiting. Next year will be 75 years of the tragedy of Babi Yar. It is planned to hold the event with the invitation of top government officials such as Angela Merkel, Benjamin Netanyahu and others, as well as representatives of leading world media.
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