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President Klaus Iohannis on Friday said in a message marking the Day of the Victory of the Romanian Revolution and Freedom, that the Revolution file does not yet have a resolution, which prevents "a full reconciliation with a painful past.
"Unfortunately, the Revolution file does not yet have a resolution, and this situation tarnishes the memory of those who fought and sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Until justice is served, in the absence of a clear and concise conclusion on the culprits, who must be held accountable for their victims, we cannot discuss a full reconciliation with our painful past," the head of state pointed out, agerpres reports.
"Thirty-four years ago, sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents and friends lost their lives in the fierce battles to win freedoms and rights, including the right to vote. Thanks to their ultimate sacrifice, today we have the opportunity to participate actively and without constraints in the democratic process. Exercising the right to vote is a duty that we have to honour the memory of those who risked their own lives for national ideals, but also a responsibility for ensuring a prosperous future for our country," added Iohannis.
He recalls that the Revolution of December 1989 "represents the moment when the decades-long aspiration of the Romanians for freedom succeeded in overthrowing communism, revealing its barbarism in front of the whole world."
"The communist regime meant fear, starvation, disillusionment, censorship, total contempt for life and dignity, lies and terror. In December 1989, Romanians managed to defeat this monster that had kept them in social, economic and intellectual darkness for four and a half decades. This long period of suffering, however, generated a huge energy, which was transposed into courage, determination and power, the desire for freedom being, for many Romanians, higher than their own life," said the president.
Klaus Iohannis urges Romanians not to forget the heroes "who opposed the dictatorship in order to restore the rights and freedoms the entire Romanian nations was deprived of for so many decades."
"Thanks to them, the generations that followed 1989 were born and grew up in democracy, safe from the cruelty of totalitarianism. The horrors of communism, although they are difficult to remember or even impossible to imagine for young people, must not be forgotten with the passage of time," said president Iohannis.
In the same message, he also refers to the current challenges, which "highlight certain frailties and vulnerabilities of democratic regimes, and can generate a feeling of nostalgia regarding the communist period."
"The impact of the current successive crises, the threats generated by the military conflicts, some even close to our borders, generate frustrations and resentments that make the past take on positive valences that it did not have in reality. We cannot allow the passage of time to give birth to a false embellishment of the communist past, which must be kept in the collective memory exactly as it was, harsh and detestable," stated Klaus Iohannis.
The president went on to evoke the testimonies of the horrors of communism, the crosses from the Sighet and Aiud prisons, the bars of the Pitesti or Jilava prisons.
"The freedom that we are obliged to value came from the sufferings of the forcibly collectivized peasants, from the torments of those in the dungeons of the Security and from the prayers of millions of people deprived of the most basic living conditions in the cold winters of communism. The defence of democracy every day is the most appropriate way to honor the memory of those who dreamed of a European Romania, through values and prosperity, and were passionate about this ideal," said Klaus Iohannis.
He argued that constant efforts are needed at the level of the authorities, civil society and citizens alike to effectively combat undemocratic manifestations.
"Indifference and lack of action in the face of the threat of populism and extremism are a real danger for any democratic society. Institutions strongly attached to the rule of law, respect for the law and the protection of citizens are not only ideals and legitimate expectations, but rights that they have earned Romanians for Romanians," said Iohannis.
