President Viktor Yushchenko asked parliament yesterday to criminalise the denial of the Soviet-era forced famine that killed 10 million Ukrainians.

"This will be our contribution to the global cause of fighting disrespect for human life, totalitarianism and national intolerance," Yushchenko told a committee created to plan the 75th anniversary commemorations of the famine, known in Ukraine as Holodomor, or Death by Hunger.

Sparked by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and the collectivisation of private farms and agricultural land, the 1932-33 famine killed almost one-third of Ukraine's population. During its height, an estimated 25,000 people died daily. Those who resisted the collectivisation campaign were shot or sent to Siberian prison camps. Yushchenko's appeal is part of his effort to win full international recognition of the famine as genocide. Numerous countries, including the United States and most recently Poland, have adopted measures calling it genocide.

The starvation was a closely guarded state secret, but information trickled out over the years. Some parties - particularly the Communists - continue to question the statistics.

Last year, Ukraine's parliament agreed to the President's request to recognise the famine as genocide. Yushchenko said now parliament should pass a bill that would criminalise the denial of the famine or the Holocaust.-AP