crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes
2000 Decision on constitutionality of prohibition of the Nazi and the Soviet symbols) we can also
underline the need to protect the dignity of communities which suffered from repressions of Communist
totalitarian regimes. In line with this reasoning, both public use of totalitarian symbols and public
justification or denial of totalitarian crimes may be regarded as offensive to the dignity of members of
any group who suffered from repressions.
Thus the Framework Decision might lead to deplorable discrimination between victims of
different totalitarian regimes. As I mentioned before, all crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity
and war crimes must be equally treated. The dignity of all their victims, including communities which
suffered from totalitarianism, must be equally protected. As emphasised by the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe in its 25 January 2006 Resolution No. 1481(2006), “those victims of crimes
committed by totalitarian Communist regimes who are still alive or their families, deserve sympathy,
understanding and recognition for their sufferings”. Otherwise the current different regulation provided
in the Framework Decision inevitably leads to the impression that victims and communities suffering
from the Soviet regime deserve only a minor level of legal protection of their dignity. That kind of
discrimination is unacceptable in any democratic society; it is not compatible with European values
either.
Finally, what kind of additional instrument is needed to remove this shortcoming. I think the best
way here is to amend the current Framework Decision, which has as its purpose, to combat racism
and xenophobia. We can reinterpret the concept of xenophobia, keeping in mind its original meaning.
Actually the word “xenophobia” consists of two Greek words, i.e. xenos meaning “alien” and phobos
meaning “fear”. Therefore the original meaning of xenophobia is a fear, hostility and hatred of anything
alien; it can denominate any hatred or persecution of different people. Thus the concept of xenophobia
may include not only crimes against persons defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent
or national or ethnic origin, but also the same crimes committed on the grounds of different political
convictions or social status. Any such hatred has to be equally condemned and persecuted. That is
why the specific experience of the new EU Member States can be seen as the reason to reinterpret the
concept of xenophobia so as to include other grounds than only race, colour, religion, descent or national
or ethnic origin. We can keep in mind also the fact that the elimination of people by the Soviet regime
on the ground of their political convictions (disagreement with and resistance against the totalitarian
regime) or social status, by the same token, aimed at elimination of politically active people belonging
to certain group or nation. In other words, actually these crimes of the Soviet regime had the aim to
eliminate all the group or nation by suppressing any resistance and subjugating this group or nation.
Therefore crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Soviet regime
can be regarded as pursuing the same aim to eliminate whole national, ethnic and religious groups.
In conclusion, I think that the best solution is to delete references to grounds of race, colour,
religion, descent or national or ethnic origin in the text of Article 1 of the Framework Decision, thus
including the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by all totalitarian
regimes, including the Nazi and Soviet regimes. All such crimes deserve the same condemnation and
all their victims should be equally protected. There is no compelling reason to keep the current situation
when public condoning, denial and gross trivialization of only certain crimes of genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes is punishable at the European level.
84