Quotable notes (05/15/05)

ON THE 60th ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II

Quotable notes

Dear friends, 60 years have passed since the end of the World War II. I have just arrived from the parade on the Red Square in Moscow, where I saw the presidents of Russia and Germany standing next to each other, where Wehrmacht soldiers were invited to Moscow to meet veterans of the Great Patriotic War, to sit at a roundtable and shake each other's hands.

Sixty years have passed since the great victory. In our hearts we have forgiven the Germans, the Japanese and the Poles. We have forgiven those who possibly were on the other side of the front line. But we have not forgiven ourselves.

Unfortunately, veterans of World War II have not yet offered their hands to the veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. I know how difficult this process is. I know what pain there is in the hearts of tens of thousands of veterans when reconciliation is discussed today.

But I am asking you, veterans, I am taking my hat off and begging you to offer your hands to each other. This is necessary for the future of Ukraine. This is necessary for us to show that everything is all right in Ukrainian society. We have put a full stop in our history."

- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to World War II veterans in Kyiv on May 9, quoted by Channel 5 TV and cited by RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report.

"For much of Eastern and Central Europe, victory brought the iron rule of another empire. The V-E Day [Victory in Europe Day] marked the end of fascism, but did not end oppression. The agreement at Yalta followed in the unjust tradition of Munich and the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Once again, when powerful governments negotiated, the freedom of small nations was somehow expendable. Yet this attempt to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability left a continent divided and unstable. ... The captivity of millions in Central and Eastern Europe will be remembered as one of the greatest wrongs of history."

- U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking in Riga on May 7, as quoted by RFE/RL Newsline.

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