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The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban, sent a message on Thursday, on Heroes' Day, mentioning that the the memory must be honored "of the best of the sons of the country, the deed of whom laid the foundation of today's freedom".
"Ascension day has been for us, for more than a century, the day in which we honor the memory of the best among the sons of the country, the deed of whom laid the foundation of our freedom of today. Over one million Romanians sacrificed their lives, died on the front, were declared missing, suffered horrible detainment from which many did not return to make Romania just as we inherited it. Since the first moments of its existence, the Romanian nation rose above through the deed of these people, women and men, often remained anonymous, the destiny of whom is intertwined with the country's destiny," Orban wrote, on Facebook.
"The international recognition of the existence of the Romanian State was achieved after the war of 1877-1878, where the people paid with the lives of the bravest and the best for the right to have an independent state. Then, In World War One we lost over half a million Romanians, on the battle field and behind the front, combatants and non-combatants, but all engaged in the fight for reuniting the country and for resisting occupation. The triumph of 1918, Greater Romania, is above all, their victory, of those who could not see it but with their heart. The Second World War was horrible, with hundred of thousands of casualties, gone missing, wounded and prisoners, but also hundreds of thousands of civilians who were victims of the sinister ethnic cleansing. Without forgetting the guilt of those responsible, we must remind ourselves of the honest sacrifices made on the front by simple people, called to fight in the country's army, people who in the name of the patriotic ideal, placed their trust in the then leaders of the nation," Ludovic Orban added.
"In the middle of suffering, our people rose up stronger than before, and the proof of its resolve is the fact that Romania, in 1920, was the first country who, decreeing a Heroes' Day, embraced equally all of the fallen on the front. Regardless of where they lost their lives, in an act of reconciliation with the past. This gesture of tolerance and forgiveness honors best the sacrifice made by the heroes of the people, who left for war, but fought to achieve peace," Orban said.
He sent his gratitude to the heroes, mentioning that we owe them our lives of today and Romania's future.
