Slovenia: Bury the dead - or bury the truth?

The EPP Group is calling for a dignified burial for the victims of all totalitarian regimes, including those murdered under communist terror. Today, the EPP Group has backed a Resolution urging the Slovenian Renew-led government to honour the memory of tens of thousands murdered by the Yugoslav communist regime after the Second World War.

“This vote is about truth and dignity, not only for Slovenia’s victims, but for all who suffered under communism. No family, no nation, should ever be forced to wait for generations to lay their loved ones to rest,” said Romana Tomc MEP, who spearheaded the initiative on behalf of the EPP Group.

"Today’s vote serves as a litmus test: now we see who in the European Parliament stands with the victims of communist terror, and who has double standards," Tomc added. 

Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, Coordinator of the informal MEP Group on European Remembrance, warned of the dangers of ignoring history: “Burying the past without truth allows its horrors to return. We see it again in Ukraine: mass murder, deportations, gulags - the very crimes we thought were left behind. Communist totalitarianism has still not been fully condemned, either politically or legally. That leaves Europe exposed.”
 
“Europe was built on one promise: never again. Never again to hidden mass graves. Never again to victims erased from memory. Never again to totalitarian crimes whitewashed by power,” she added.
 
The EPP Group strongly criticises the divisive rhetoric and procedural obstruction from those opposing the Resolution. “We regret that the S&D, Renew and Greens political groups have refused to show solidarity with those seeking historical justice and remembrance that honours the victims,” Tomc and Juknevičienė said.
 
“They preach human rights, yet they politicise the burial of victims of communism and turn a blind eye to double standards when it comes to those who committed the crimes,” Tomc stressed.
 
The Resolution, adopted by the European Parliament today, amongst other things, calls on the left-leaning Slovenian government to reinstate the Day of Remembrance for the victims of communism, a commemoration it recently abolished. It also demands further investigation of over 750 known mass grave sites, proper burial for the victims, and full access to Yugoslav-era secret police archives so that crimes against humanity can finally be uncovered and documented.