The commission Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation on development to public diplomacy, humanitarian cooperation and preservation of traditional values convene a meeting on the facts of the rehabilitation of Nazism and fascism in Europe, Elena Sutormina, the chairman of the commission told RIA Novosti.
“We will send an appeal to the UN Secretary General Anthony Gutteres about the need to convene a special meeting on the numerous facts of falsification of history, the rehabilitation of Nazism and fascism in Europe. It is at a high level that it is extremely important to evaluate such events as the celebration of SS veterans who were accomplices of the Nazis and guides of a terrible ideology. And this needs to be done in the near future”, – said Sutormina.
Latvian Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks told reporters on Friday that the Waffen SS legionnaires are the pride of the Latvian people and the state. The Latvian SS Legion was created from two grenadier divisions by the command of Nazi Germany during the Second World War in the territory of occupied Latvia. On March 24, 1943, Heinrich Himmler issued an order clarifying the concept of the “Latvian Legion” as a general definition for Latvians serving in all Latvian Waffen SS military units, including police battalions. On March 16, 1944, units of the legion entered into battle with the Red Army in the area of the Velikaya River near the city of Ostrov, Pskov Region. That is why Legionnaires Day is celebrated in Latvia on March 16th.
“If you don’t call these things by their proper names and hold them accountable on a global level, this will give a green light to all destructive and extremist forces. It is unacceptable to trample the memory of the ancestors who gave this world, sacrificing their own lives. Fascism, Nazism and other related and updated ideologies should be strictly assessed by the world community unambiguously”, – Sutormina added.