Representatives of the Association “Unirea-ODIP” and of the Political Movement “Union”, which consists of five political organizations, commemorated the 80th anniversary of the annexation of Bessarabia by the USSR on June 28, 1940. After laying flowers at the Commemorative Stone in the Great National Assembly Square in Chinua, they marched to the Embassy of Russia where they gave speeches and stuck maps with Greater Romania to the Embassy’s fence. Simultaneously, members of the National Unity Party (PUN) launched a campaign titled “Memory Week” at the monument to the victims of Stalinist deportations called “Pain Train”. This will last until July 6, IPN reports.
“After 30 years of sovereignty and 80 years of occupation, Bessarabia regrettably remains a satellite of the Russian Federation. Only if we show the correct direction, which is the union with Romania, as part of the European Union and NATO, things will follow a normal path,” said the president of the Liberal Party Dorin Chirtoacă. He expressed his hope that the unionists will ultimately unite, not like today.
Acting president of the Romanian People’s Party Tatiana Potîng said it is everyone’s holy duty to commemorate these painful events as long as the people go through an identity crisis and the state is headed by a Dodon who humiliates himself and humiliates the people by taking soldiers to march in Moscow.
“We want to be part of the Romanian state. This is our wish. This is our historical right and to this desideratum, we, the Political Movement “Union”, want to lead the Republic of Moldova. This is our place, role and major political goal. To be able to do this, we, the unionists, should unite,” said Valeriu Munteanu, president of the Save Bessarabia Union.
“The Russian Federation and those people from the Republic of Moldova who support it and ardently defend its territories and objectives in the Republic of Moldova should bear in mind that we are open to wellbeing, cooperation and understanding, but not from a kneeling position, but from the position of mutual respect, as the civilized states of the world do,” noted the leader of the Public Association “Unirea ODIP” Vlad Biletski.
After the event staged at the Embassy of the Russian Federation, the unionists laid flowers at the Cemetery of Romanian Heroes in Botanica district of Chisinau, rendering homage to the Romanian soldiers.
Representatives of the National Unity Party came together in front of the monument to the victims of Stalinist deportations “Pain Train” in the Alley of the Railway Terminal. “As a result this lesson that wasn’t learned, we now have such actions as those in eastern Ukraine or in Crimea and many other claims on territories of the former Soviet Union deriving from Putin’s speeches. The Soviet Union’s and Russian Federation’s revanchist policy continues at present and a lesson should be learned from this. We will learn to see that June 28, 1940 meant not only repression, denationalization, genocide and deportation. June 28 was the territorial fragmentation of Romania and even of Bessarabia, which was conceded to the Society Union, portions of it,” said PUN leader Octavian Țîcu.
“You will not find hatred in our hearts today. You will not discover any thirst for revenge in our looks. We are here for honorable acts to remind everyone of our compatriots and of all those who suffered 80 years ago, when Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union. The consequences of that act can be seen today,” said first vice president of the PUN Vlad Țurcanu.
Within the campaign “Memory Week”, the PUN aims to daily organize events in the country’s districts. The week will end on July 6 with an event at the monument to deportees in the Railway Terminal and at the Cemetery of Romanian Heroes.
On June 26, 1940, Romania received an ultimatum from the Soviet Union demanding the evacuation of the Romanian military and administration from Bessarabia and from the northern part of Bukovina, with an implied threat of invasion in the event of noncompliance. On June 28, 1940, these territories were occupied by the Soviet Union. The events took place in a broader geopolitical context where, by the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact of August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union divided the spheres of territorial influence in Europe.
