20/03/2009 Political Affairs and Democracy
Strasbourg, 20.03.2009 - “In 2006, PACE strongly condemned the massive human rights violations committed by totalitarian communist regimes and expressed sympathy, understanding and recognition for the victims of these crimes“, Göran Lindblad (Sweden, EPP/CD), Chairperson of the PACE Political Affairs Committee, recalled today at a Conference organised in Toronto on ‘Twenty Years After: Dealing with the Heritage of Communism’.
Mr Lindblad said he was convinced that there was an urgent need for public debate on the crimes of communism and their condemnation at a broader, not only European, international level. “It should be done without any further delay for the sake of general perception. It should be clear that all crimes, including those committed in the name of ideology, praising the most respectable ideals like equality and justice, are condemned, and there is no exception to this principle. This is particularly important for younger generations who have no personal experience of communist rules”, he concluded.