The country leaders, alongside former deportees and political prisoners, participated in a meeting in remembrance of the victims of Communist deportations of July 6, 1949. A group of priests officiated a memorial service for those who died in the gulags of Siberia, Info-Prim Neo reports. Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti said that July 6 marked a tragic day for our people. “Even today, some deny that genocide. We lost our elite of doctors, priests, teachers, but we must regain our dignity and remember those forcedly loaded in wagons and taken to Siberia. Six decades from then, we can unequivocally affirm that they were innocent people, who suffered unrightfully in the Communist gulags. Their assets and destinies were ruined. They were humiliated and bore the label of “enemies of the people” for decades. We have laws that stipulate their rehabilitation and we must implement these laws”, declared Nicolae Timofti. Prime Minister Vlad Filat thinks July 6 is a sad and painful date for our people. “We all want to live in a free, democratic and prosperous country. By following the example of dignity, resistance and perseverance of the deportees, we will succeed in doing what is best for our nation”, said the PM. Mayor of the capital Dorin Chirtoaca says that all the peoples of the world who respect themselves honor their martyrs and heroes. The nations that lack self-respect keep the people entangles in lies and beautiful illusions. “We must choose what kind of nation we want to be”, said the Mayor. Valentina Sturza, chairman of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners, said that today marked 63 years since thousands of families were taken from their beds into trains and deported to Siberia or Kazakhstan, where they had to survive in horrible conditions. She thanked the government for allotting the money needed to make 8000 badges “Deportee. Political Prisoner.” and for offering a material aid of 500 lei to former deportees for the second consecutive year. “On June 13, a photography exhibition dedicated to former deportees was opened at the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova. Moreover, a million lei was offered for the reconstruction of the building that will become the Museum of Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions”, added Valentina Sturza. After the meeting, the former deportees were invited at a commemorative lunch.