Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-06-06-Speech-1-027-000"
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"en.20110606.15.1-027-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr Kelam, Members from the Baltic States, ladies and gentlemen, today we are, in particular, commemorating the expulsions and mass deportations from the Baltic States. These expulsions are among the darkest events of European history. The last century has been described, not without justification, as the century of expulsions. We are showing respect today for all of the victims of these inhumane acts.
In this regard, we are demanding a full investigation of Soviet history and, in particular, the atrocities of Stalinism. The Russia of today should not see this as a political attack, but as an offer of support in engaging with its own history, which, just like the history of the other countries in Europe, is characterised by positive as well as negative times.
However, just as we remember the victims from the Baltic States, we also think of the Armenians, who were expelled from Turkey at the start of the last century. We remember the so-called population exchange between Turkey and Greece. Deportations in Europe reached a peak, in particular, in the middle of the century as a result of the Nazi regime and the Communist regime of the Soviet Union. The expulsions following the Second World War also left deep wounds, as did the expulsions during the war in the former Yugoslavia.
However, we must not forget that many cases of colonial rule were also characterised by expulsions. We must call for a serious debate on the various forms of expulsions and the supposed reasons for them. This should also include an investigation of guilt and punishment of the guilty, as far as this is still possible in any case, as is now happening in the case of Mladič, for example. The decisive answer to this, however, is European unification, particularly with the independent Baltic States, and a clear commitment to continuing the European unification process, which is not yet complete. This historic task is something that we owe not only to ourselves, but also, and in particular, to the victims of the many expulsions that have occurred in Europe. Many politicians from all of the countries of Europe, from East and West, have worked to bring this about. One example is the Gdańsk Declaration, signed by President Kwaśniewski of Poland and President Rau of Germany.
Since we want to learn from the past, we need to be vigilant and also watch out for the first signs of expulsions taking place, as in the case of the Roma, for example. We need to reject any statements like those that maintain that we must send Arab immigrants back across the Mediterranean in their boats, and we must defend ourselves against those who want to put an end to our achievement of a Europe without borders and return once again to narrow-minded nationalism.
Let us express our deepest respect for all of the victims of expulsions and deportations, but let us be united in committing ourselves to continuing European unification as the only real guarantee against a policy that brought so much misery to the people of Europe and beyond during the last century. We must never forget.
It must never happen again. These were calls that were made immediately after the Second World War. They are still just as valid today and the best response to them is a united Europe."@en1
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