President of the Republic, Ilir Meta honored Sunday the victims of totalitarian regimes such as Stalinism, Communism, Nazism and Fascism in the framework of the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.

The Head of State shared the pain with all persons having survived prisons, internment and inhuman torture as he warned that the history may repeat if the price paid for freedom, democracy and human rights gets forgotten. 

Albania turned into “the North Korea of ​​Europe for over 4 decades” and nowadays lies ahead the responsibility of protecting freedom, democracy and social pluralism at all times, President Meta underlined.

Full statement by President of Albania below:

On the European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Nazism and Stalinism we honor all the innocent lives lost from the crimes and terror of two destructive ideologies and share the pain with all those who survived prisons, internments and inhuman torture.

History risks being repeated in other forms if we forget the painful price we have paid for Freedom, Democracy, Rights and Human Dignity.

One of the features of totalitarian regimes is the erasure of historical memory, firstly through propaganda, and then repression.

For over 4 decades we have become the North Korea of ​​Europe, therefore today we have the responsibility to protect at all times the freedom, democracy, pluralism and social peace, which have not been given to us once and for all.

Bertolt Brecht's  “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” and George Orwell's "Animal Farm", the two most extraordinary allegories of Nazism and Stalinism, have given all mankind valuable messages at all times and are extremely warning.

The two world masterpieces teach us that when society is negligent in defending Freedom and Democracy, an ambitious gangster like Arturo Ui will always appear, who, surrounded by unscrupulous servile and criminals, rises to power, blackmailing the annihilated opposition opponents, after taking control of the courts and closing the mouth of the press.

Or as on Orwell Farm, the oppressed animals after rebelling for freedom and equality, suddenly a cunning elite led by pigs with the principle that "all are equal, but some are even more equal than others" take control of power and one tyranny is replaced by another.

Let us never forget the tragedies of the past and by joining all forces to do our best for every Albanian to enjoy life, happiness, rights, freedoms and secure European future in Albania and not as an immigrant in other countries.