Distinguished guests,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is impossible to be neutral when we are faced with genocide or to remain unaffected by the testimony of survivors.
It is impossible to think the holocaust can be forgotten or ignored.
Today is a date to remember not only the victims of former horrors, those that were abandoned, but also the victims of today and tomorrow.
Genocide starts with the killing of one man, woman or child because of who they are, not for what they have done.
There are memorials in almost every major city across Europe and this beautiful city of Strasbourg reminds us that reconciliation between people of different religions, cultures, ethnicities, nationalities and gender, is the only path for a peaceful coexistence.
We haven't to forget that what begins with the failure to endorse the dignity of the individual, all too often ends in tragedy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have to be willing to speak out against atrocities, no matter where they take place, and no matter who are the victims.
And now, lets us remember the victims and let us remember that we all have a moral and intellectual responsibility to recognize them and to never forget them.