Bulgaria, Romania join Estonian initiative to investigate crimes of communism

Estonian Justice Minister, Urmas Reinsalu, recently met with his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts, who voiced their willingness to join the initiative for establishing an international institution for investigating crimes of communism and bringing those responsible to trial. 

At an international meeting in Tallinn on August 23, 2015, Reinsalu proposed to set up an international body to investigate the crimes of communism and prosecute those responsible in a similar fashion to the Nuremberg international tribunal. 

To date, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia have joined the initiative.

Reinsalu hailed the readiness of Bulgaria and Romania to join the initiative.

During the meeting, Reinalu presented all European Union justice ministers with the initiative and requested their cooperation. 

He underlined that all victims have the right to justice and restoring justice is the common duty of Europeans of the younger generations.

"A judgment on crimes committed in the past would prevent ideologically motivated genocide in the future," he commented.