Chisinau celebrated 74 years of the ultimatum imposed by the Soviet Union on Romania, on June 28, 1940, by which it was demanded to withdraw its civil administration and army from the territory between the Prut and Nistru Rivers, by laying of flowers, a march and a commemorative meeting. Hundreds of families were deported to Syberia from the territory known as Bessarabia and Northern Bucovina as a result of that ultimatum.
Ion Margine, secretary general of the National Liberal Party that is a member of the Union Council, has told IPN that Bessarabia is commemorating a black day in its history. “On June 28, 1940, Bessarabia was annexed to the Soviet Union by force. We commemorate all the generations that struggled against the occupation,” he stated.
“June 28 is a tragic day for all the Romanians. I think that when a people is liberated, the occupants must leave, but the Russians are still present in Bessarabia,” said Sergiu Tataru, deputy chairman of the Association of the Nistru War Veterans “Tiras Tighina”.
The commemoration events involved deportees of the Stalinist regime. “My family was deported in 1949. We were forced out of the village, being called enemies of the people. I was small and do not remember that period well. It was hard for us and I cannot forget that time,” deportee Maria Cucu has told IPN.
Attending the event, writer Nicolae Dabija said that on June 28, 1940 Hitler and Stalin tore Bessarabia away. “Tens of thousands of people were arrested and tens of thousands of people were deported to Siberia, where many died after the organized famine. The signing of the Association Agreement with the EU is a first step taken to eliminate the consequences of the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact. We must be masters at home and demand that the foreign army be withdrawn from the country’s territory,” he stated.
According to the writer, Estonia asked for €40 billion damages from Russia for the victims of the Soviet regime, while Moldova should ask more money for the persons forced to go to Siberia. A museum of the Soviet occupation should be set up for the growing generations.
