Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said that today marks 85 years since the first mass Stalinist deportation operation in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, reports TRIBUNA.

According to him, around 22,000 people were torn from their homes and sent to Siberia and Kazakhstan. Families were separated, destinies were shattered, and innocent lives were cut short.

“For many of us, this tragedy is part of our family history.

My grandfather, my father’s father, was deported. I never had the chance to meet him. He returned home seriously ill, after years of suffering and forced labour, and died far too young. Just like in my family, thousands of other families in the Republic of Moldova have such stories that are passed down from generation to generation,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that today people commemorate all those who suffered as a result of Stalinist repressions and keep their memory alive.

“The deportations were a crime against innocent people, an attempt to destroy communities, identities, and destinies.

We must know our history and pass it on to our children. By speaking about these tragedies, we better understand how precious freedom, dignity, and every person’s right to live in safety are.

The memory of those deported obliges us to build a society in which such tragedies can never happen again,” the official added.