The Day of Commemoration of the Victims of Fascism and Communism, August 23, is the most suitable occasion to pay a pious tribute to the memory of all those who experienced the horrors of totalitarian regimes and to reiterate the "firm" commitment to reject extremism, intolerance and hatred, in all forms of manifestation, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday.
According to the head of state, "August 23, 1939 was the day humanity, not only in Central and Eastern Europe, was condemned to a cruel future for millions of people", and "the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was a criminal conspiracy, after which generations after generations experienced the toxic and barbaric effects of totalitarian ideologies, with serious long-term consequences".
"The totalitarianisms of the 20th century generated unimaginable suffering and created immeasurable damage for the European continent and its peoples. War, deportation, famine, discrimination, racism, abuse, intolerance and hatred left deep traces that marked the last century. Even today we remember the gesture of King Mihai I on August 23, 1944, an act that had major implications in shortening the duration of the Second World War in Europe. The liberation from the (Marshal, ed. n.) Antonescu dictatorship and the joining of our country to the United Nations in the fight against Nazi Germany, the total commitment to the reunification of the territory demonstrated the high political and patriotic stature of the King," the President said in a message on the occasion of the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of Fascism and Communism, sent to AGERPRES by the Presidential Administration.
"Only the vigilance of collective memory assures us that evil will never again take root in Romanian society. The profound message of the events we are marking today is that democracies exist and prosper only through the permanent commitment of politicians and citizens alike to assume the fundamental values of freedom and to protect human rights. The democracy we live in today was not achieved easily, but was the result of a struggle led by all those who had the courage to oppose illiberalism and despotism, even at the risk of being killed, tortured and persecuted. The distortion of historical facts was repeatedly attempted by the defenders of the old criminal regimes. Unfortunately, we still observe such attempts to rewrite the truth. Propaganda and disinformation have no place in our society," the head of state emphasized.
He added that deviations from European values, through flagrant violations of the rule of law and deeply racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic public messages, outrage the memory of the victims of totalitarianism.
August 23, the day of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, was established by the European Parliament, through a Declaration from 2008, as the European Day of Commemoration of the Victims of Nazism and Communism. At the same time, in 2011, the Romanian Parliament, through Law no. 198, declared August 23 the Day of Commemoration of the Victims of Fascism and Communism.
AGERPRES
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