Roberta METSOLA, EP President, participates in the commemoration of the June deportation, mass deportation by the Soviet Union, in the European Parliament in Brussels

Brussels

statement

ceremony

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

DUCH GUILLOT, Jaume (ES)

commemoration

KELLER, Fabienne (Renew, FR)

war victim

JUKNEVIČIENĖ, Rasa (EPP, LT)

KANKO, Assita (ECR, BE)

ANGEL, Marc (S&D, LU)

president's agenda

WALTER-DROP, Agnieszka (PL)

Commemoration of the Victims of the Soviet Mass Deportations: extracts from the event with Roberta METSOLA, EP President

Cutaways, Brussels , Belgium, 12/06/2024,  (2  shots)

External shots, arrival of Roberta METSOLA before the ceremony, cutaways, ambiance shots., Brussels , Belgium, 12/06/2024,  (4  shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, <p>Between 1939 and 1945, the Soviets authorities under Stalin&rsquo;s rule deported an estimated 2,750,000 people, including both citizens of the Soviet Union and inhabitants of the territories invaded in 1939. Those seen as disloyal to the Soviet rule were targeted.</p>

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, These Soviet deportations were chiefly designed to silence opposition and to deprive ethnic minorities of their cultural identity and of their social and political structures.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It is our common duty to cherish the memory of victims of atrocities and terror. This European Parliament condemns in the strongest terms totalitarian systems and crimes against humanity committed by its leaders. We stand by those determined to fight for human rights and for dignity.<br />And whilst we cannot change the past, we can learn from it. That is why I am proud that the European Parliament is organising this memorial, just a few days after free EU-wide European Parliament elections - to reaffirm that Europeans democracy stands over autocracy.

SOUNDBITE (Polish), Kordian BOREJKO,  President of the Executive Board of the Association of Siberian Deportees. (Związek Sybiraków), I am Polish and for me the 19th September 1939 will always bring memories of the soviet aggression against Poland, a minder of sacrifices made, the death of our loved ones, the annexations of our lands, the exterminations of our people. Today 85 years after the war, our memories remind clear, thanks Madame METSOLA, we can together commemorate the victims. Make peace reigns for ever.

The Latvian / Lithuanian choir sings the song &ldquo;Lec, saulīte!&rdquo;, Brussels , Belgium, 12/06/2024,  (5  shots)

Ambiance shots of the ceremony with Roberta METSOLA, EP Preident,&nbsp; EP vice presidents and EP members, guests and EP directors reading listings of victims, Brussels , Belgium, 12/06/2024,  (18  shots)