International Parliamentary Conference Dedicated to 75th Anniversary of Victory
07 May 2020
Video-conference, co-organized by the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Press Center MIA “Russia Today” brought together parliamentarians from the CIS, Central and Eastern European countries, members of the European Parliament, prominent political and public figures. The participants of the online conference told about the contribution of their respective countries to the fight against Nazism, the historical memory about the war, and the plans to celebrate the Victory Day. Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev moderated the discussion.
Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko stressed that the new generations should know all the truth about the war. She called on to declare the Victory over Nazism as the global heritage of the humanity and the monuments to those who fought against it in all the countries – as the global memorial of the humankind.
Speaker of the Milli Mejlis of the Azerbaijan Republic Sahiba Gafarova told about the contribution her country made to bring the Victory closer and 75 million tons of oil supplied to the Red Army for the frontline. She stressed the need to defend the truth and counter the attempts to deny the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Hitler’s troops.
Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan noted that the Armenian people joined the fight against Nazism from the very first days and shared all its challenges. He told that the common Victory became a warning against the war and aggression, different forms of terrorism, nationalism, actions against personal freedom and human right to life.
Speaker of the Council of Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova reminded that the people of Belarus had taken the first hit in 1941 and stood up to fight the enemy in the guerilla war and selflessly worked in the evacuation. She invited everybody to join the celebration activities, which were not cancelled despite the pandemic.
Deputy Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Shakirov noted the war hardships experienced by every Kazakh family, as well as the role of Kazakhstan in providing raw materials, military-industrial and food resources for the warring army. He expressed hope that the winner peoples would overcome all the challenges of the present time.
“Strengthening cooperation between our countries and the mutual assistance and support are more important than ever”, said Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Dastanbek Dzhumabekov. He noted that due to the pandemic many events have been cancelled, however, the republican mass media widely covered the war history, feature films and documentaries were broadcasted, essays and reports about the war heroes and workers of the home front have been written, on 9 May citizens would join the online procession of the “Immortal Regiment”. Dastanbek Dzhumabekov also noted that the representatives of the Kyrgyz Republic took part in the international project “Memory Lines”, prepared on the initiative of CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.
Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Zinaida Greceanii called the Victory Day the most important uniting historical date for our countries and peoples. She recalled that her country had suffered from the severe occupation regime and told about the preservation of historical memory about the war, particularly about such campaigns as “The Ribbon of Saint George”, “Immortal Regiment”, “Volunteers of Victory”. By the 75th anniversary of the Victory the Eternity Memorial Complex is expected to be restored in Chisinau.
Chair of the Committee of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan on Coordination of Activity between the Majlisi Milli, the Majlisi namoyandagon, Government and Public Organizations, Mass Media and on Foreign Affairs Farhod Rahimi told about the great contribution of the Tajik people to the defeat of the common enemy. He highlighted that one of the key sources of the Victory was the unprecedented coherence of the Soviet peoples, who unanimously stood up to defend their Motherland, went through the ordeals of the war time and upheld the Victory.
Speaker of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva told about the construction of a beautiful Victory Park in Almazar district of Tashkent to commemorate the heroism of fathers and grandfathers and special program aimed at social assistance to the veterans, patriotic education and preservation of historical memory about the war years. She stressed that the Uzbekistan representatives actively participate in all the projects of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory.
The parliamentary conference also brought together Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union Oleg Voloshyn, Leader of the Party “Democratic Movement – United Georgia” Nino Burjanadze, President of the Organization of the Participants of the Second World War fighting on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition (Lithuania) Julus Deksnis, Vice President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov, members of the European Parliament Tatjana Zdanoka (Latvia), Miroslav Radacovsky (Slovakia) and Yana Toom (Estonia), President of the “Immortal Regiment Serbia” Foundation, Minister of Innovation and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Leader of the Serbian People’s Party Nenad Popovic and Chairman of the National Movement of Russophiles in Bulgaria Nikolai Malinov.
