Several Members of the European Parliament, including Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc, have issued statements criticising the Golob government’s revival of communism. Members of three European Parliament groups (ReNew, European People’s Party – EPP, and European Conservatives and Reformists Party – ECR) are outraged by what is happening in Slovenia. Although the proposal to discuss the situation in Slovenia did not make it to the plenary, the EPP will continue to try to get the issue on the agenda of a future session.
Members of the ReNew, EPP and ECR parties of the European Parliament are appalled by what is happening in Slovenia. There is talk of the revival of communism by the government of Robert Golob, the visit of the Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko, to Čebinje to celebrate an anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of Slovenia, the abolition of the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Violence, the return of the statue of Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz – Tito to the estate in Brdo, the denial of the right to the burial of the Roma people murdered during the Revolution at the cemetery Žale by Zoran Janković, and so on.
In her opening remarks, MEP Romana Tomc pointed out that the decision of the Golob government to abolish the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Violence would unfortunately not be discussed in the plenary session of the European Parliament this week. “However, this is not the end of the story in the European Parliament. At the Conference of Presidents, which decides the agenda for the plenary session, the European left has prevented this hearing by outvoting the right-wing parties, which unfortunately no longer have a majority in the European Parliament at the moment.” When she informed her colleagues of the Slovenian government’s decision, they were astonished.
This is primarily a moral issue, not a political one!
Romana Tomc pointed out that MEPs could not believe that someone in the EU could do such a thing. The European People’s Party, as the largest political group in the European Parliament, stands behind the Slovenian initiative and condemns in the strongest terms the glorification of communism and supports the efforts of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) in drawing attention to the crimes committed by this totalitarian regime. The glorification of communism, its symbols and its criminal dictators is unacceptable. “These are European values, this is the norm. This is not about politics. It is, first and foremost, a moral issue. And indeed, it is difficult to understand that someone does not condemn crimes and even denies the right of the victims to have their own grave and their own day of remembrance.”
The SDS MEP concluded her speech by recalling that the left likes to stand up for human rights, for the rule of law, for democracy, etc. But this principle “fails immediately” when it comes to defending one’s own people. “In such cases, they like to look away.” She is convinced that this decision of theirs will undoubtedly have consequences and that even their voters simply will not understand this.
The victims of national and international socialism should not be treated differently!
Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev, who is also a member of the EPP, also made a statement. He began by highlighting the fact that the EU was born out of the bloody history of the 20th century, when millions of victims of totalitarian regimes (national socialism, communism and fascism) died. “We owe it to the young generations to remember all the victims of totalitarian regimes, including the victims of communism.”
“Communism was a terrible dictatorship in half of Europe,” he said. The reunification of Europe in 1989 is, in his view, “a great achievement of European nations.” The suffering of millions of victims must never be forgotten, he warned. “That is why I condemn the decision of the Slovenian government to abolish the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communist Violence and to disrespect their relatives and all the people who suffered under the Yugoslav totalitarian communist regime. We must pay tribute to all the victims, and we cannot treat the victims of national socialism any different than the victims of international socialism.” The MEP also believes that both totalitarian regimes are equally bad, especially when it comes to the millions of European victims.
After 94 million victims, it is inconceivable that communism is still glorified by some!
Sandra Kalniete, a Latvian MEP from the EPP group, also took the floor and began by stressing that remembering is one of Europe’s core values. She said that we should remember and learn from the past in order not to repeat mistakes. For her, it is absolutely inconceivable that after 94 million victims of communism, there are still those who would like to glorify it (the crimes of the communists) and to abolish the National Day of Remembrance for the victims of this criminal system. “The victims deserve to be remembered and honoured.” Their relatives, she said, should know where they are buried, and it is our duty to remember the past and those who suffered under the communist yoke.
Domen Mezeg
