Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu stated that “86 years ago, on 28 June 1940, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet regime. It was the beginning of one of the most difficult periods in our history. What followed were arrests, deportations, famine, and years in which people lived in fear. Thousands of families were torn apart, and tens of thousands of people were taken from their homes and sent far away, without knowing whether they would ever return.” TRIBUNA reports.

The Prime Minister noted that the consequences of the occupation affected hundreds of thousands of people. Many were deported, others died of hunger, or were arrested and persecuted. Almost every family in the Republic of Moldova carries such a wound in its own history.

He recalled that his own grandfather had been deported: “I never had the chance to meet him. He returned home after years of suffering and forced labor, gravely ill, and died far too early. As in my family, such stories are preserved in thousands of families and passed down from generation to generation.”

The Prime Minister said that today we commemorate all those who suffered during those years.

“We keep their memory alive, and we must speak the truth. What happened then brought immense pain, and its consequences were felt for generations. History cannot be changed, but it can be understood. Freedom, dignity, and peace are not things we can take for granted. They must be defended by each of us,” Munteanu added.