The Epoch Times: Council of Europe Parliament Condemns Human Rights Violations by Communist Regimes

(Editor: Since coming to power over half a century ago, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been responsible for over 80 million unnatural deaths of people in China. For the last six years, the CCP has relentlessly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners using the countless methods of torture, mental and physical abuse, brainwashing and violence that it has built up through fifty plus years of suppression.)

LONDON—The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) condemned on Wednesday the human rights violations committed by totalitarian communist regimes and expressed sympathy, understanding and recognition for the victims of these crimes.

The Assembly passed a resolution, which censured violations such as executions, deaths in concentration camps, torture, slave labour, and starvation committed by communist regimes.

"Whereas another totalitarian regime of the 20th century, namely Nazism, has been investigated, internationally condemned and the perpetrators have been brought to trial, similar crimes committed in the name of communism have neither been investigated nor received any international condemnation," wrote Swedish representative Goran Lindblad in a report issued in mid-December by the Parliament's Political Affairs Committee that served as a catalyst for Wednesday's debate.

The Assembly called on all communist or post-communist parties among Council of Europe member states "to reassess the history of communism and their own past […] and condemn them without any ambiguity" if they have not done so previously.

PACE is a 630-person assembly consisting of parliamentary representatives from 46 countries that currently hold Council of Europe membership. Separate from the European Union, the Council of Europe was established in 1949 and focuses primarily on the promotion of European cooperation, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The Assembly said in the resolution that the Council of Europe is "well placed" to host this debate as all of the former European communist countries — with the exception of Belarus — are now members of the organization.

Some articles of the declaration expanded beyond Europe's borders, however. "Totalitarian communist regimes are still active in some countries of the world and crimes continue to be committed," the resolution said. "The Assembly strongly condemns all those violations of human rights."

Looking towards the future, the parliamentarians added, "The Assembly believes that this clear position of the international community will pave the way to further reconciliation."