5,000 files on repressed persons transferred to National Achieve

The first 5,000 files on persons subjected to political repression during 1920-1951 have been moved from the special store of the Security and Information Service (SIS) to the National Archive. Acting President Mihai Ghimpu said such a move was needed as the number of files decreases every year. About 16,000 cases and over 14,000 card indexes have been destroyed since 1990, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The destruction of the files on politically repressed persons can be regarded as attempt by the totalitarian regime to hide crimes. The files transferred to the National Achieve will represent very important materials for the scientists and historians who study our past,” he said. Mihai Ghimpu stated that the move is aimed at ensuring access to these documents in accordance with international practices, stressing the human freedoms and democratic values should be above any party interests. “A number of measures will be taken to support the National Achieve in order to enable free access to the files. Financial resources will be allocated for setting up about 16 stores for keeping the files,” Mihai Ghimpu said. SIS director Gheorghe Mihai said that sentences to execute convicted persons, the proceedings of the special Troika of the NKVD of the Moldovan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic for 1937-1938 and materials concerning the deportation of Bessarabians will also be transferred to the National Archive. Another about 130,000 files will be moved to the National Achieve from the special stores of the Ministry of the Interior in a week. The SIS store includes approximately 80,000 files classified into five categories. About 31,600 persons had been convicted in cases centering on political matters. Over 5,000 of them had been sentenced to death, while another 3,000 died in jails and remand centers. As many as 28,400 repressed persons have been rehabilitated so far.