Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-11-Speech-3-147"
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"en.20050511.16.3-147"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, sixty years after the Second World War I can say with conviction that the European Union is the best model of cooperation between countries that has so far been experienced in the old continent. In Europe, dialogue has replaced wars, and yet reconciliation, deep understanding of historical truth and the mutual intertwining of the interests of states and politicians has still not been achieved.
Yes, at this time we commemorate together one of humanity’s greatest victories over Nazi ideology. We remember the victims of fascism and bow our heads in memory of the combatants who died. Yes, it is satisfying that the whole political spectrum of the European Parliament has been able to unite on the resolution about the end of the Second World War and for the first time is simultaneously assessing and condemning the crimes of both the Nazi and the Communist regimes. Ladies and gentlemen, our joint declaration stated unambiguously that there can be no reconciliation without historical truth; that only a strong Europe can provide solutions on how to overcome the legacy of the past, at the foundation of which lies injustice and the 50-year long social, political and economic degradation of nations that were kept imprisoned. Unfortunately, our declaration did not say everything. Neither is what Jean-Claude Juncker said in Moscow yesterday acceptable. He said that the resolution of these problems is a question for future generations. Only the powerful call things by their true names. A few days ago in Riga, George Bush said, quite unmistakably: ‘‘the Yalta agreement followed in the unjust tradition of Munich and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small nations was somehow expendable. Yet this attempt to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability left a continent divided and unstable.’ The real cold war in Europe that lasted for nearly 50 years confirms what he said. Everyone in the European Parliament knows that NATO, the North-Atlantic union, was created to promote European security in the climate of fear of an invasion by the totalitarian, cynical and aggressive Soviet regime. This confirms the fact that for the West, following the Second World War, there was no trust in an ally such as Stalin. The evil empire created by Stalin was unacceptable, even though before then the victory over Nazi ideology had been jointly celebrated.
Ladies and gentlemen, when we are thinking about Europe’s future, what I have just said should be borne closely in mind. Sixty years have passed since the Second World War, and Europe together with its allies is shaping its future. Unfortunately, Russia, inheritor of the mantle of the USSR, is still making statements denying its influence over the countries of eastern Europe, and the occupation of my country, Latvia, and of Lithuania and Estonia. This disowning of historical truth, the deliberate upholding of the crimes of the Communist regime, is humiliating. It amounts to contempt for the victims and casualties of the regime, yet it is happening today. Russia is trying to hold on to opportunities to manipulate public opinion worldwide. Russia is keeping the problem of non-citizens in Latvia in the public eye and exaggerating it, but at the same time it is continuing to violate the human rights of victims and casualties of the totalitarian Soviet regime, and their immediate families, by denying their suffering and losses. Such an attitude by Russia does nothing to foster reconciliation between Russia and the states of eastern Europe and the Baltic which have regained their freedom. Genuine condemnation of the crimes of Communism and a resolution of their consequences are needed in the name of Europe’s future stability. I call upon you to vote for the resolution!"@en1
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