- Baltnews.ee, translated by Tom Winter -
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| Talinn, the Museum of Occupation |
Greek Minister Stavros Kontonis declared that it is inadmissible to equate communism with nazism, after which he announced his refusal to participate in the anti-communist conference in Tallinn on August 23.
Stavros Kontonis, the Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights of Greece called it "utterly dissatisfactory" and contrary to EU values, the whole idea of Tallinn holding an anti-communist forum within the framework of the country's presidency in the European Union, and refused to participate in the conference, Sputnik Estonia reported on Saturday. The international conference "Heritage in the 21st century of crimes committed by communist regimes" will be held in the Estonian capital on August 23 - the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.
In a letter sent to the organizers of the event, Kontonis explained that such an initiative revives the climate of the Cold War, contradicts the values of the EU and equates Communism with Nazism, which is unacceptable.
"History can not be faked. Historical data and events declare the Soviet Army as the liberator of Europe and of the Nazi concentration camps, as a savior from the horrors of the Holocaust. In our thoughts and in our minds, the Nazi regime is a political system whose ideology is based on racism, hatred, intolerance and mass murder, and under no circumstances can it be compared with communism, with the political ideology that it represents, or comparable to something else, Or simply because humanity has not experienced anything like Nazism and I hope that in the future it never will again" his letter states.
According to him, communism has spawned dozens of ideological currents, including Eurocommunism, which influenced all of Western Europe.
"We believe that the initiative to organize a conference with a specific content and title sends an incorrect and dangerous political signal, reviving the climate of the Cold War, which has caused much suffering to Europe, contradicts the values of the EU and, of course, does not reflect the point of view of the Greek government and the Greek people. And nazism and communism can not be two sides of the same equation. It is clear that the General Secretariat for Human Rights of the Greek Ministry of Justice will not participate in a conference with such a theme," said Kontonis.
The European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism is celebrated on August 23, the day of the signing of the non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, "which divided Europe into spheres of influence." It was proclaimed by the European Parliament on April 2, 2009.
On July 3, 2009, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution "On the Unification of a Disunited Europe", which condemns the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century - Nazism and Stalinism. This decision of the OSCE PA, which actually equated communism with Nazism, aroused sharp protests from Moscow. The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrey Nesterenko called the resolution inadmissible and noted that this document distorts history for political purposes. The Russian delegation boycotted the vote. France and Greece also criticized the OSCE resolution.
In the Baltic countries, the resolution allowed the adoption of a number of laws that equate communism and Nazism. On June 18, 2009, the Estonian Parliament passed a law, declaring August 23 the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. The Latvian Saeima adopted a similar decision on July 16, 2009.
In July 2009, the Seimas of Lithuania adopted an amendment to the Law on Memorable Dates, according to which August 23 became known as the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. In Lithuania, this day is also celebrated as the Day of the Baltic Way (the Baltic Way is a chain of people who joined hands, stretching for 595 kilometers on August 23, 1989. By this action the participants of the Baltic Way from Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov- Ribbentrop). To unify the name of this day, the Ministry of Justice of Lithuania proposed to call August 23 the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism and the Day of the Baltic Way.
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