Baltic parliaments condemn falsification of history on the anniversary of the end of WW II

NordenBladet — In their statements to commemorate the end of World War II, the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania call on citizens and societies to jointly condemn crimes against humanity and to support peace, stability and democratic development in Europe and the whole world.

“War crimes must not be forgotten or forgiven. War is a crime against humanity,” President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Henn Põlluaas says in his Statement. “We condemn the attempts arising from the aggressive geopolitical ambitions of the Russian Federation to falsify and distort history, and to blame others for the crimes committed by Russia itself, including starting the war.”

Põlluaas believes that the cynical efforts of the Kremlin to reap political benefits from the sufferings of the victims and to incite mistrust and hatred between nations are bound to fail. “The proverb ‘truth rises, lies sink’ also holds true in international relations,” Põlluaas emphasised. “Unfortunately, the truth does not rise by itself; it needs to be supported by strengthening the global historical memory.”

Põlluaas pointed out that when we commemorated the victims of World War II, we protected authentic historical memory. “It is our duty to uphold authentic historical memory so that the crimes of totalitarian regimes are not forgotten, and to fight against all attempts to falsify history. Knowledge of historical truth helps stand against the threats to democracy and the right to self-determination of peoples,” Põlluaas said.

The Riigikogu drew attention to this in its Statement “On Historical Memory and Falsification of History” of 19 February 2020.

Full text of the Statement of the President of the Riigikogu on the anniversary of the end of World War II. Both the Parliament of Latvia and the Parliament of Lithuania have issued similar statements.