Torontos on juuniküüditamise mälestamist läbi viidud erinevas kohtades, hiljuti Toronto raekoja juures Nathan Phillips väljakul. Nii toimus see tänavugi. Sissejuhatava sõnavõtuga esines Ida- ja Kesk-Euroopa Nõukogu Kanadas esimees Marcus Kolga, esinesid ka Läti noorteorganisatsiooni esindaja, Leedu suursaadik Kanadas Darius Skusevičius ja peakõnelejana Waterloo ülikooli poliitikateaduste osakonna emeriitprofessor Ivan (John) Jaworsky, keda tutvustas Balti Liit Kanadas ja Eestlaste Kesknõukogu Kanadas president Kairi Taul Hemingway.
Mälestusküünalde süütamise järel kogunesid sündmusel osalenud Toronto tähtede juurde, kus võeti ühispilt.
Marcus Kolga 14.juunil 2022 Torontos:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends: The 4.5 million Canadians of Central and Eastern European heritage, stand united to remember and honour the victims of Soviet terror who were arrested and deported during those dark nights 81 years ago.
Families were torn apart. Women, children and the elderly were sent as slave labourers to uninhabitably corners of the Soviet Union. Thousands died along the way.
The Stalinist nightmare that terrorized millions throughout Central and Eastern Europe in the last century, has severed as an inspiration and template for Vladimir Putin’s efforts to de-populate and destroy the Ukrainian people over the past four months.
The unspeakable savagery of the Russian invasion today, is all too familiar to those of us whose families fled Russia’s Soviet era barbarism, and found refuge and safety here in Canada after World War Two.
Sadly, the millions of victims of Soviet terror and repression have never received an ounce of justice.
During the Cold War, and even now, those who resisted Soviet colonization are crudely smeared by Russian dictators as fascists and Nazis – including those who resisted the Nazi occupation.
That tradition continues today, with Putin absurdly claiming that his invasion is an operation to de-Nazify Ukraine from its Jewish president. Groups operating in the fringes of Canada’s political spectrum help amplify these toxic narratives that aim to marginalize and silence our communities.
Friends, it is now time to actively seek justice for the crimes committed against our peaceful nations. We must unite and call on the Canadian government to investigate the war records of those Canadians who served Stalin and those who participated in the Soviet mass human rights abuses committed in June 1941. This must include the arbitrary arrests, torture, murder and systematic rape that the Red Army engaged in during it’s “liberation of the Baltic States”.
We must also demand reparations for our families who suffered Soviet repressions. Canadian and other Western resource firms – specifically those that have profited from mines opened by Stalin’s GULAG slave labourers – must help pay that cost.
Friends, the independence of the Baltic States is more protected today than any time during the past 30 years and this is thanks to Canada and our NATO allies who are committed to defending it. However, that does not mean that Vladimir Putin will not test our resolve.
The Russian Duma is today considering repealing Russia’s recognition of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian independence. This means that we must stand united, and work together to maintain our focus on defeating and containing the Russian menace.
Thank you. Long live the free and independent Baltic nations and Slava Ukraini.
FOTOD – Paul Kiilaspea ©2022
