BOLTON’S Ukrainian community gathered in Heaton Cemetery to commemorate the 80th anniversary of one of the darkest periods in the nation’s history.

They were joined by guests including Bolton North East MP David Crausby, the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Colin Shaw, and the Bolton Council leader, Cllr Cliff Morris.

The event was held to mark 80 years since the country was subjected to the famine known as the Holodomor or “Death by Starvation” that saw millions of Ukrainians starve to death in 1932 and 1933.

To mark the anniversary, a memorial stone was unveiled and readings were interspersed with traditional Ukrainian songs from the Bulava singers and music from the Bolton Hoover brass band.

Millions of people starved to death during the Holodomor and the community has campaigned to have the famine recognised as an act of genocide by the Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin.

In 2009, Cllr Nick Peel had a motion passed by the council to formally recognise the Holodomor as genocide.

He said: “Looking around the ceremony you can see many of these people are the third and fourth generation of the Ukrainian community in Bolton and they have contributed a lot to our rich culture.

“They now want the UK government to recognise the Holodomor as genocide and we will stand side by side with them.”

MP David Crausby has also supported the campaign.

He said: “It has been a long campaign and I am delighted to be here. The key now is to get that recognition in the Ukraine itself, that would be enormous.”

The memorial stone was unveiled by Cllr Shaw and Lola Smal, a Ukrainian, who witnessed the famine first hand.

The stone carried the message, “a memorial to the undying memory of the millions of victims of the Holodomor genocide.”

A wreath was laid before a rendition of the Ukraine’s national anthem was performed.

The Very Reverend Bohdan Matwijczuk, of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthadox Church, said: “This was the worst holocaust the world has ever known, when man ate man.

“The statistics are horrific. There were 1,000 people dying every hour, 17 every second and, to this day, the perpetrators of this manmade famine remain in denial.”

The ceremony ended with a minute’s silence before guests were invited to a reception at the Ukrainian centre in Castle Street.

Cllr Morris, said he was honoured to share the occasion with the Ukrainian community. He added: “It is really important to recognise the suffering that these people went through.”