Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-25-Speech-3-387"
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"en.20090325.30.3-387"2
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"Madam President, in 1948 President Truman wrote, ‘Now we are faced with exactly the same situation with which Britain and France were faced in 1939 in dealing with Hitler. A totalitarian state is no different, whether you call it Nazi, Fascist, Communist or Franco’s Spain. The oligarchy in Russia is a Frankenstein dictatorship worse than any of the others, Hitler included’.
So the question is why, 61 years later, we still have to argue about the same problems. I think that today what we need is not only the economic and political enlargement of Europe but the enlargement of European awareness of the massive crimes against humanity which occurred everywhere in Europe in the 20th century. We need the integration of European historic perception – the integration of prejudices and different views of history – as only in this way can we proceed to the better Europe of the future.
No, we have to deal with, not argue about, the question of dictatorships. We must start with the victims – with the equality of victims – because every victim of any totalitarian regime is to be considered equal in human dignity and deserves justice and remembrance as well as Europe-wide recognition and guarantees of ‘never again’.
Therefore I would say that it is hypocritical to shun or postpone this debate on these questions and the reaching of conclusions. It is not a matter for academic study. We have enough testimonies of mass crimes. We need political and moral will to proceed. I am very thankful, both to the Czech Presidency and to Commissioner Figeľ, for their statements, which give hope that we can reach an all-European understanding."@en1
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