Moldovan Parliamentarian: Hundreds of millions of people suffered under communism

On January 25th 2006, The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), which brings together parliamentarians from 46 European countries, passed a resolution entitled “Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes” at its plenary session. The resolution was passed by 99 votes to 42, which caught the attention of countries all over the world. Europe is the place where the spectre of Communism was born. This resolution passed by PACE heralded a new beginning of an international condemnation of totalitarian communist regimes.

Before voting on the resolution, the plenary session held over two hours of intensive debates. Parliamentarians from different countries made speeches at the meeting, outlining their personal experiences and opinions of communist regimes. Clearharmony will publish these speeches to bring attention to the crimes of the world’s largest communist regime — the Chinese Communist Party — which has brutally oppressed Falun Gong practitioners for almost seven years resulting in almost three thousand deaths and at least 44,000 documented abuses of torture.

The following is a report on the speech by Mr Diacov, a parliamentarian representing Moldova:

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Mr Diacov said that although there had been a substantive debate on principles, it had not been ambiguous. Moldova was a small country which, like Lithuania, had experienced atrocities for many years. Many members of the Assembly represented countries that had suffered but were now young democracies. It was important to know history in order to build the future on strong foundations.

Of course, many countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom had not suffered under communism and were unlikely to do so in the future. He wanted the debate to unite the Assembly, as the Council of Europe was founded on the basis of that wonderful document, the Convention on Human Rights. The Council of Europe defended individuals who had been unjustly charged or detained and it monitored elections.

Hundreds of millions of people suffered under communism. Over 30 million people were sent from Moldova to prison in Siberia, many of whom had committed no crime other than to be Christian. Mr Diacov had been born in Siberia in those circumstances and had had to explain many times why he was born there and why members of his family had lived, died and been buried there. He had told the committee that the Assembly was looking at the matter rather late in the day. He agreed with the comments of the leader of his group who had said that the debate must be considered in a broader context, rather than as a political squabble between left and right. There must be a full and proper condemnation of the crimes of communist regimes. It was necessary to agree the report to ensure that future generations did not suffer in the same way.

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More information on the resolution “Need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian communist regimes” can be found at http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200601/31217.html

Note: Founded on May 5th 1949, the Council of Europe (COE) has 46 member countries and has its headquarters in Strasbourg, France. The COE aims to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, to develop continent-wide agreements to standardise member countries’ social and legal practices, and to promote awareness of a European identity based on shared values and cutting across different cultures. The highest decision-making body is the Committee of Ministers, composed of the 46 Foreign ministers or their Strasbourg-based deputies (ambassadors/permanent representatives). The European Human Rights Court is a body under the Council of Europe.