PHOTO Stalinist deportation victims commemorated in Chisinau

Chisinau, July 6. /MOLDPRES/- Victims of the Stalinist deportations were commemorated today in Chisinau during a rally organized at the "Trenul durerii" monument in Railway Station Square, in the context of the 74th anniversary of the biggest wave of Stalinist deportations. As a sign of mourning, in all localities in the country, the State flag of the Republic of Moldova was flown at half mast.

Attending the event were President Maia Sandu, Speaker Igor Grosu, deputies, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, citizens who were deported and their relatives.

The rally began with a divine memorial service for the victims of the deportations. Afterwards, those present laid flowers at the monument and held a minute of silence to honor the memory of those who went through the ordeal of deportations.

Maia Sandu said that it is our duty to keep the memory alive and not allow our country to go through such horrors again. "Today we mark the 74th anniversary of the second wave of deportations, which sent 34,270 people, including 11,245 children, to Siberia and Kazakhstan in one day. Our grandparents and parents were loaded into over 1500 cattle cars and sent to perish. Last year, the National Archives Agency published for the first time the list of people deported between July 6-9, 1949. There are our relatives, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles. There is our nation. Let us honor them by simply not forgetting their suffering, let us keep their memory alive by passing on their life stories to the generations", said Maia Sandu.

Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru said that the deportations were "a great tragedy", and we still feel its consequences today.

The honorary president of the Association of former deportees and political prisoners of Moldova, Valentina Sturza, said that today is a day of mourning for the entire country. She expressed regret that until now a Museum of deportations has not been established in our country.

Today, several demonstrations dedicated to commemorating the victims of deportations are organized in localities throughout the country. The program of actions includes rallies, document exhibitions and scientific conferences at museums, libraries and university halls.

This July 6 marks the 74th anniversary of the biggest wave of Stalinist deportations. On the night of July 5-6, 1949, the Soviet regime rounded up tens of thousands of Bessarabian peasants, took them to forced labor camps in Siberia, and confiscated their property. Between 1941 and 1951, there were three waves of deportations, and historians estimate that the total number of Bessarabian deportees would be between 80 and 120 thousand.