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President Klaus Iohannis sent a message on Monday on the occasion of the National Day of Remembrance for Holocaust Victims, calling on all responsible political actors to act decisively against any attempts to divide, in the context of the pandemic of COVID-19, and regarding the National Museum of Jewish History and the Holocaust, he calls on the Government to "take serious steps".
"Unfortunately, the pandemic situation, in addition to the deep health crisis, has favored manifestations of hatred, indifference, intolerance, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. In this context, online communication has become the most important and widespread tool, an environment in which misinformation, hate speech and fake news spread very easily and fueled feelings of mistrust and insecurity. Hundreds of people die every day and others are agonizing in intensive care units due to infection with this terrible virus we are dealing with. Many are the victims of cynical conspiracy and populist fanatics who propagate toxic ideas against vaccination, which is a direct attack on humanity. Let us not remain indifferent in the face of this momentum that risks crushing the foundation of our democracy," says the head of state in the message sent by the state councilor Catalina Galer, during the commemoration ceremony of the Holocaust victims organized at the Holocaust Memorial in Bucharest.
The head of state emphasizes that such demonstrations are absolutely intolerable and that each of us has a duty to "swiftly, harshly and firmly sanction any slippage" and to defend "fundamental rights and freedoms, democracy and European values."
"I call on all responsible political actors to act resolutely against any attempt at division, to be directly and concretely involved in promoting the values of tolerance, respect and diversity in our society and to support Holocaust knowledge education."
In connection with the National Museum of Jewish History and the Holocaust in Romania, the head of state finds that the project has accumulated delays and is unjustifiably blocked, considering that this situation is unacceptable.
"I call on the Government to take serious steps and take all steps to build this museum. It is imperative that we have this institution as soon as possible, which will keep the memory of the Holocaust alive in the national consciousness and maintain a deep attachment to the fundamental values of humanity. With the thought of the sufferings of innocent souls and those of our survivors, of acting together and in solidarity to defend and promote democratic principles and values," he says.
President Iohannis states that "the hard lesson of the Holocaust must function as a beacon to guide us on our European path, and we must cherish and honor the few survivors that time allows."
"Today we pay a pious tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and honor the survivors of the most heinous deployment of criminal forces for the extermination of their fellow human beings in history. For all the innocent lives taken - grandparents, parents, spouses, sons and daughters - and to the families and their descendants, we reaffirm our commitment not to allow oblivion to linger over their suffering and sacrifice and to strongly oppose the repetition of such a tragedy. Remembering and honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust is a fundamental duty of the Romanian state. Exactly eight decades ago, the forced deportation of Romanian Jews to TransDniester began, a campaign in which 120,000 Jews traveled a path of death: torture, famine, disease, inhumane conditions in which they were forced to live, dispossession of any kind of property, rights and dignity, under the constant threat of death, represented the set of measures by which the regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu had set out to liquidate those he considered 'undesirable'," the head of state claims.
According to President Iohannis, "crimes must be known, criminals must be exposed to public disgrace, the memory of victims must be preserved, and we must support survivors and their descendants."
"It is necessary to honestly assume the traumatic past and speak openly to the younger generations about the Holocaust. Only in this way will we be able to fight against attempts to falsify history, increasingly frequent attempts to rehabilitate criminals and deny the suffering of innocent victims," said the head of state, Agerpres informs.
