Tiraspol, 12 April. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The Pridnestrovian capital is celebrating the anniversary of the liberation of the German-Romanian invaders. Tiraspol regained freedom on 12 April 1944 after nearly the three years of occupation. Every year this day begins with a rally at the capital's Glory Memorial where Soviet soldiers and Pridnestrovian defenders are buried. And every year it is recalled during the rally why this holiday is celebrated.
As the president emphasised, it is not some individual states that lost the Great Patriotic War — Germany or Romania — but the very notions of fascism and Nazism. However, some recent events, according to Vadim Krasnoselsky, question this victory.
«Moldovan politicians have a strange desire to make 27 March 1918 — the day of the occupation of Bessarabia by Romania — a national holiday. This is perhaps the only example in history where a state seeks to celebrate its own occupation," he said.
The president noted the danger of contemporary ideological and information wars. «There is only one way to counteract them: our memory and idea. We are often told: don't live in the past. And we do not live in the past — we remember it. May the Pridnestrovian people have a good memory.»
The head of the Tiraspol State Administration added it was important not only to remember the events of the Great Patriotic War but also to take care of those who participated in them.
«Unfortunately, there is not a single living liberator in Tiraspol who saw those terrible days, but there are still over 150 Great Patriotic War veterans living in Tiraspol, and we will always take care of the people who gave this beautiful city a chance to live," said Oleg Dovgopol.
«Perhaps, we should just think about it one more time and say it both to ourselves and aloud: thank you, our dear ancestors, for, first of all, having taught us to love our Fatherland, our land," added the first president of the PMR, Igor Smirnov.
A minute of silence was observed in memory of all those killed. The rally ended with the laying of flowers.
