Latvian SS men praised in Belgium
Moscow
Despite protests from citizens and public organizations in Belgium, a monument in honor of the Latvian SS legionnaires continues to stand in the country.
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated this at a briefing in Moscow, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We drew attention to the public discussion that has unfolded in Belgium about the monument erected in the Flemish commune of Zedelgem in 18 in memory of the Latvian legionnaires of the Waffen-SS. I would like to remind you that for more than two years, despite protests from citizens and public organizations in Belgium, including veterans’ associations, in the commune of Zedelgem in West Flanders there has been a monument in honor of the Latvian SS legionnaires who, let me remind you, fought in the 45-46 years of the twentieth century on the side of the forces of evil, as our Western partners like to say. And they were kept in a prisoner of war camp located there,” Zakharova recalled.
She also said that the monument was erected by the Zedelgem municipal authorities in cooperation with the “Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.”
“However, now, due to the attention to this blatant fact of glorifying Nazi collaborators, the question of the future of the monument has been submitted to the Flemish Legislative Assembly. Quite rightly there are calls for the immediate dismantling of the misanthropic structure. At the same time, there are those who are trying to spin the matter as if this monument “perpetuates the desire of the Baltic people for independence and democracy, having nothing to do with the glorification of Nazism.” This way you can achieve a lot. Although, this is also a trend in some European countries – towards a revaluation of Hitler’s works,” the Foreign Ministry representative noted.
“Actually, there is a decision of the Nuremberg Tribunal, it says it in black and white, they have no statute of limitations, they are relevant today more than ever. We condemn any form of glorification of Nazi collaborators, collaborators of all stripes, whitewashing of former members of the Waffen-SS, who are blasphemously elevated to the rank of participants in, as they are called, the national liberation movement.
We must not forget who the SS legionnaires were. I just said, they were on the side of absolute evil, they were direct accomplices of Nazi war criminals who swore allegiance to the Hitler regime, which carried out the most massive genocide in the history of mankind,” Zakharova concluded.
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