On Thursday, 10 June, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Estonian Embassy in the United States Kyllike Sillaste-Elling and director of the Estonian American National Council Marju Rink-Abel laid a wreath on the Victims of Communism Memorial opened three years ago to commemorate all victims of communism.
At the memorial ceremony, speeches were given by President of the Victims of Communism Foundation Dr. Lee Edwards, members of Congress Daniel Lipinski and Thaddeus McCotter, delegate of the Swedish parliament Göran Lindblad, and executive director of the Joint Baltic American National Committee Karl Altau. During the ceremony, emphasis was placed on the need to remember the criminal nature of communist regimes and the hundreds of thousands of people who have perished as a result. It was acknowledged that unfortunately communism is still a threat in today’s world.
The memorial commemorating victims of communism was opened in June 2007 by President George W. Bush and then-chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee Tom Lantos. In June of last year a virtual Global Museum on Communism was also opened, which shares the records and fates of people that suffered under communist regimes. The museum can be found at the web address http://www.globalmuseumoncommunism.org/. The virtual museum includes a gallery dedicated to Estonia.
Both the Victims of Communism Memorial and the virtual museum are international initiatives supported by the governments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and other European countries, as well as thousands of organisations and private individuals the world over.
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