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Ciolacu to Romanian Communism Conference: It is our duty not to allow the facts of the past to be distorted
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Wednesday said that respect for and knowledge of history, and owning up to the past are elements on which a democratic society is founded and it is our duty not to allow the distortion of the facts of the past and to promote historical truth.
"For four decades, Romania experienced an oppressive regime, oriented exclusively towards power and determined to eliminate any form of opposition. The communist regime was established and consolidated through terror, violence, through the use of fear as a means of mass manipulation, with our country becoming an isolated and punitive space. At the same time, the dark face of the repressive system hid behind a harsh reality, marked by suffering, humiliation, trauma, flagrant violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. The inhuman nature of the communist regime determined a huge number of losses to humanity, and the entire communist apparatus left strong traces in the collective psyche. Knowing and respecting history, but also accepting the past are elements on which a democratic society is founded. That is why, in addition to the moral duty we have towards all the innocent victims who lost their lives, and towards those who sacrificed themselves in the name of an ideal during the Revolution of December 1989, it is our duty not to allow the distortion of the facts of the past and to promote the historical truth," reads the message to the national conference "Romanian Communism", read out by Alexandru-Mihai Ghigiu, head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery.
The message emphasises the importance of educating the young generations about what the communist regime meant and its consequences in order to develop a democratic consciousness, so that all these atrocities are no longer possible, and highlights the need to protect and promote fundamental rights and freedoms in the current context, marked by challenges and an intensification of extremist, xenophobic and racist phenomena.
"By educating the younger generation about what the communist regime meant and about its consequences in order to develop a democratic consciousness; we make sure that all these atrocities will never be possible again (...). I want to reiterate the commitment of the Romanian government to the consolidation of memory policies, the promotion of historical truth, the development of research and education about communism. The fight against extremist, populist, racist and xenophobic currents, as well as historical revisionism, is a priority for the Government I lead."
The conference, in its twelfth edition, an initiative of the National College for the Study of Securitatea Archives (CNSAS), in partnership with the Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History and the University of Bucharest, was hosted by the government.
