EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on Sunday commemorated all the victims of totalitarian regimes, on the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Nazism and Stalinism.
Through a post on Twitter, the European Commissioner states that:
“We must never forget or accept oppression based on beliefs, religion, social class or race. European history is full of such repressions. The victims are among us, we must honour them and never forget those who lost their lives and their loved ones. “
A note on Twitter was also made by David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament:
“Today we honour the memory of millions of victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. “We must keep alive the memory of history and never stop fighting for our core values, the rule of law, freedom and democracy.”
Albanian Prime Minister, head of the ruling Socialist Party, left the day unmarked and did not post any comment on his social media platforms. Both President Ilir Meta and Democratic Party Lulzim Basha made public statements to commemorate the day.
Under the rule of Enver Hoxha, hundreds of thousands of Albanians were persecuted, thousands were sent to prison and concentration camps where they were tortured and murdered. Hoxha was inspired by and followed for sometime aspects of Stalinism. Many families still do not know where the bodies of their loved ones are and are still fighting for justice.
