Memorial to the victims of communism is being built in Estonia
In 2018, a monument to the victims of communism will be erected in Estonia. This was announced by the Estonian Minister of Justice Urmas Reinsalu at a commemorative ceremony marking the anniversary of the deportation of Estonians to Siberia, Interfax news agency reports.
"The March deportation [of 1949] was a criminal genocide against our people. We will never forget the victims, and we must also remember the criminals against humanity. In the coming year we will be opening a memorial to the victims of communism in Maarjamäe, where the names of all of the victims will be engraved," the minister said.
On March 25, 1949, per the decision of the USSR Council of Ministers, 7,500 families or more than 22,000 Estonian residents, including women, elderly and children, were deported to Siberia during Operation Priboi (Coastal Surf). Most of them were released in 1958, and the last of the deported were released in 1965. Many did not live to be released.
In Estonia, this deportation is seen as genocide and a crime against humanity.