Motion for a resolution | Doc. 11833 | 04 February 2009

The evaluation of the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact approaching its 70th anniversary

Signatories: Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Zigmantas BALČYTIS, Lithuania ; Mr Ryszard BENDER, Poland, EDG ; Mr Detlef DZEMBRITZKI, Germany ; Mr Andrzej GRZYB, Poland ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Ms Sinikka HURSKAINEN, Finland, SOC ; Mr Göran LINDBLAD, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Dariusz LIPIŃSKI, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Arminas LYDEKA, Lithuania, ALDE ; Ms Dangutė MIKUTIENĖ, Lithuania, ALDE ; Mr Kimmo SASI, Finland, EPP/CD ; Ms Arūnė STIRBLYTĖ, Lithuania, ALDE ; Mr Petré TSISKARISHVILI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Michał WOJTCZAK, Poland, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

This year the world is remembering the 70th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact (23 August 1939). The consequences of the Pact were the captivity and demolition of the nations of Central and Eastern Europe.

The Pact was a conspiracy carefully prepared by Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler against the statehood and freedom of the nations of Central and Eastern Europe by spreading the most horrible repressive ideologies in the territories occupied by their totalitarian regimes.

The Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact and its secret proposals created the basis for the crime performed by the most bestial dictatorships of mankind. The legacy of the Pact and the following outcomes should be evaluated by the member countries of the Council of Europe in a proper way.

It is worth noting herewith that, in September 2008, the European Parliament adopted a Written Declaration on the Proclamation of 23 August as European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. This document points out that the influence and significance of the Soviet order and occupation of citizens of the post-communist states are little known in Europe.

We encourage the leading bodies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to evaluate in the autumn part-session of 2009, the murderous heritage of the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact and to adopt a resolution on this issue.