United Europe to Restore Justice to Victims of Communist Regimes

07 June 2012

The International Conference “Legal Settlement of Communist Crimes” was held in the European Parliamenton June 5, 2012.

The organizers and partners of the Conference were the Platformof European Memory and Conscience, European Center of Solidarity and European Network of Memory and Solidarity with the assistance of the well known MEPs, including Ms Sandra Kalniete (Latvia), Mr György Schöpflin (Hungary), Mr Tunne Kelam (Estonia), Mr Paweł Robert Kowal(Poland), as well as the ex-Presidents of the European Parliament Mr Hans-Gert Pötteringand Mr Jerzy Buzek.

The Conference gathered in the European Parliament the most well known lawyers and experts of the international criminal law, Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the national organizations from 16 countries that deal with investigation of the crimes, committed by the communist regimes.

According to the organizers of the Conference the urgent problems of justice for the most horrible crimes, committed by the communist regimes in the Central and Eastern European countries oblige the national structures of the EU member-countries, called to study the reasons and consequences of crimes, committed against the humanity, coordinate their activity on the basis of the “European Platform of Memory and Conscience”.

At this, the main goal of the Conference was seeking the model of the International justice that eventually will help the European Parliament to execute its ethical and moral duty to the peoples and citizens that suffered from the totalitarian communist regimes, as well as to execute the criminal prosecution of the organizers and executors of the crimes committed.

The participants of the Conference considered four sets of problems – “Crimes of Communism – why does Europe need to do more?”, “Cases with European-wide relevance”, “International justice for the Communist crimes”, “The next steps toward international justice”. In these frameworks the leading lawyers and experts made their reports.

Opening the Conference the ex-President of the European Parliament Mr Jerzy Buzek noted: “It is right the history and generality of our past where we find the answer to the question: how we have to act and what we have to avoid. If we and our next generations want to make lessons from the communist crimes we must say about them openly. We must have courage to tell good from evil and give the due evaluation to the difficult realties of the communist epoch”.

In the beginning of the reports of the main reporters the MEP from Latvia Ms Sandra Kalniete drew attention of the participants to the fact that it is “important not only to discuss and condemn the horrible crimes, committed by the communist regimes, but also to pay attention to the particular steps that should be made in order to restore justice and unite Europe. Many of those who have committed the crimes against humanity still walking in the streets and had no responsibility for their crimes. Some of them even use privileges for serving the communist regime.

In order to eliminate injustice to the victims of these crimes and make precedents for the future Europe has not only to make everything possible to condemn these crimes, but to restore justice to the victims of the communist regimes the way it was done to the victims of Nazism.

The reporters, representing various countries of the European Union presented the comprehensive information about the activity of the national institutes, investigating the crimes of the communist regimes and considered in details the peculiarities of finding guilty of the particular crimes, in particular, the problems of drawing to the responsibility in Rumania, investigation of the murders on the border between Czechoslovakia and Austria, forced assimilation of Turkish minority in Bulgaria, mass deportation of peoples, living on the border between Poland and Germany.

During the discussion the participants discussed the general issues, relating to the restoration of the historical justice and punishment of those, guilty in committing the crimes of the communist regimes, overcoming of the political and legal barriers of drawing to the responsibility of the guilty persons, as well as the practical aspects, in particular, establishment of the special court of the European Union that would consider the crimes, committed by the communist regimes.

Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people was represented at the conference by Refat Chubarov, as the Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, MP of Ukraine Mustafa Jemilev, who received the personal invitation of the organizers was not be able to attend it as he had to be present at the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on June 6, 2012, considering the Draft Law of Ukraine “On the restoration of the rights of persons, deported on the national grounds”.

When Refat Chubarov was given the word in the discussion, titled “Crimes of the Communism. Why Europe has to do more?” he said as follows:

“Considering the time limit I’d like to make two brief notes.

First. I forward you the text of greeting from the long-term political prisoner of the communist regime, the present Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and Member of Ukrainian Parliament Mustafa Jemilev.

Second. Though, Ukraine is the single post Soviet state, promoting the return of the Crimean Tatar people to its Homeland, however during the past 20 years following the proclamation of Ukrainian independence no legislation was adopted that would regulate issues related to the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people.Looking for the answer to the question “Why Europe has to do more” I would like to note, in particular that it is difficult to count on the restoration of justice without the direct involvement of the international community in the processes, related to the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people. Consequently, Ukraine and Crimean Tatars need the help of the international community. One of the forms of involvement of the European countries – members of the EU could be the International forum, initiated by the Crimean Tatars. At this, we sure, such form of participation of the EU member-states in the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people would promote the goals of the European integration of Ukraine”.

Refat Chubarov also held some consultations with the participants of the conference concerning the establishment of the direct cooperation between Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and the national institutes of the member-states of the EU, dealing with the investigation of the crimes of the communist regimes and overcoming their consequences.