On the morning of June 12, the Victims Of Communism Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC -the first of its kind in the world. The inauguration was attended by participants from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Romania, The Czech Republic, Cuba, China, the Ukraine, Belorus, Russia, Vietnam and many other countries.
Sweden was represented by Camilla Andersson and Anders Hjemdahl from the UOK, and European Union Parliament representative Göran Lindblad (see Resolution by the Council Of Europe about the necessity to condemn the crimes of totalitarian Communist regimes here).
The audience, of over one thousand, consisted of numerous diplomats, representatives of Human Rights groups, ethnic group leaders, Congress leaders and many foreign dignitaries; including foreign ministers, ambassadors and former Prime Ministers.
In conjunction with the inauguration, the main speeches were given by Rep. Tom Lantos (Democrat, Holocaust survivor and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee), Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (Republican), the promotor of the memorial, author and writer Dr. Lee Edwards -who have strived for 15 years to realize the idea of a memorial to the victims of Communism, and the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
The dedication was followed by a reception with speeches given by Karl Altau of the Joint Baltic American Committee, Swedish European Union Parliament representative Göran Lindblad, former political prisoners of Communist dictatorships, advocates of democracy and human rights, statesmen and leading politicians from many countries, ambassadors, other diplomats, government ministers and other prominent foreign guests, among them the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.
After the reception, round table discussions were held with a panel consisting of, among others, author and historian Paul Hollander, professor of history Alan Kors, Chinese dissident Harry Wu, who spent 19 years in the Chinese Lao Gai prison and slave labor camps, Vietnamese poet Nguyen Chi Thien, who spent 27 years imprisoned by the Vietnamese Communists for his poems, professor of history Dr. Richard Pipes, Estonian European Parliament representative and former dissident Tunne Kelam, and Pedro Fuentes, former Cuban revolutionary turned dissident, who spent 18 years in Cuban prisons.
Watch or listen to the round table talks here
The day's activities concluded with a gala dinner with speeches by, among others, legendary journalist and author William F. Buckley, Dr. Lee Edwards and Elena Bonner, wife of the late Russian dissident Andrei Sacharov.
The promotor of the Memorial, Dr. Lee Edwards
Facts:
June 12, 2007 is the twentieth anniversary of the historical speech delivered by US president Ronald Reagan in Berlin 1987, in which he famously dared Soviet leader Mr. Gorbachew to "tear down this wall!".
The memorial is a bronze replica of the papier-mache "Goddess of Democracy" which was erected by students at the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, China in 1989, which was crushed by the tanks of the Communist regime.
The inscriptions on the Memorial, front and back, reads “To the more than 100 million victims of Communism and to those who love liberty” and “To the freedom and independence of all captive nations and peoples”.
The erection of the Memorial and the day's events were arranged by The Victims Of Communism Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established by an Act of Congress to build a memorial in Washington, DC to commemorate the more than 100 million victims of communism; to honor those who successfully resisted communist tyranny; to educate current and future generations about communism's crimes against humanity; and to pay tribute to those who helped win the Cold War.
Links:
The Victims Of Communism Memorial Foundation
Video and audio from the round table talks on the day of the Memorial dedication
Background facts of the Memorial and an interview with Dr. Lee Edwards
Speech delivered by Rep. Tom Lantos (Democrat, Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee)
• Part 1
• Part 2
Speech delivered by the President of the United States, George W. Bush
• Part 1
• Part 2
Speech delivered by the President of the United States, George W. Bush (text)
Chinese Communist Party condemns dedication of Memorial (Reuters)
Articles:
Wall Street Journal
Frontpage Magazine
The American Spectator
Los Angeles Times
Washington Times
Washington Post
Chicago Tribune
Miami Herald