Brussels, 23/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - Five MEPs have put forward a proposal for a resolution on forming a working group entitled “United Europe, United History”. The group's aim is above all to take the “unknown and forgotten crimes and other human rights abuses” more into account. It is in such terms that Wojciech Roszkowski (UEN, Poland), György Schöpflin (EPP-ED, Hungary), Tunne Kelam (EPP-ED, Estonia), Girts Valdis Kristovskis (UEN, Latvia) and Vytautas Landsbergis (EPP-ED, Lithuania), who are at the origin of the initiative, describe the Communist regime and the crimes linked to the Stalinist period. “Europe is partly hostage to a version of history that has been developed by the Soviet regime”, Girts Valdis Kristovskis said in accusation.
Is this a violent anti-Russian campaign? György Schöpflin states it is nothing of the kind, saying: “We are not anti-Russian. In Russia, there are historians that take a stance that is close to ours. But they are in the minority”. During a conference at which they presented their project to the press and to their colleagues, the Hungarian MEP denounced our “selective memory” which leaves certain historical facts to one side. “European politicians sometimes use history as a weapon to serve their own interests”, he stressed.
To the question of whether it is legitimate for politicians to intervene in the field of historical research, Girts Vladis Kristovskis answered that he preferred to commit himself by affirming that the Stalinist regime should be considered in the same way as that of Franco or Hitler. “Some politicians ignore such issues and kick them into the long grass by saying that history should be left up to historians. But that is not my case”.
By way of conclusion, Girts Valdis Kristovskis cited Franco Frattini who, on 19 April 2007, had promised in an article published in The Herald Tribune, to open public hearings into the “horrible crimes” committed during Stalin's period. “We now want to see whether Commissioner Frattini plans to keep his promise or not”, added Vytautas Landsbergis. (L.B.S.)