Stop SS-glorification and historical revisionism

2. März 2009

Prevent SS meeting in Latvia!
On 16 March former members of SS associations and neo-fascists in Riga (Latvia) prepare a march in honour of the Waffen SS as “national liberator of Latvia”. The International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR) – Association of Anti-fascists, the umbrella organization of associations of former resistance fighters, partisans, deportees and internees, as well as victims of Nazi crimes and anti-fascists of today’s generations from 25 countries in Europe and Israel calls on the President of the Republic of Latvia and the Latvian Parliament to prevent this meeting with all political means.

We recall that the International Court of Justice in Nuremberg in 1946 recognized the SS and all of its integral parts, including the Waffen-SS, as criminal organization and declared it responsible for many war crimes and crimes against humanity. This ruling of the community of nations has validity until today. The recent United Nations General Assembly underlined this in a resolution from November 4, 2008 and criticized all attempts by the glorification of the fascist movement and former members of the Waffen SS, including the erection of monuments for the glorification of criminal organizations as “national liberation movements”.

We recall that the foundations of the new Europe based on the community of anti-Hitler coalition and the common struggle against fascist barbarism. Therefore, in this Europe no history distortion and trivialisation of Nazi criminals and their organizations should be tolerated.

We call on political leaders in Latvia to stop this goings-on with all the political energy.

We call upon the democratic and anti-fascist forces in Latvia and beyond, in the various forms of civil society, to bring their protest against this historical and political provocation to the public.

We appeal to the member associations of the FIR and the anti-fascist public, by writing to their own governments and the embassies of Latvia in their countries to protest against the scandal of such an SS meeting.

We urge the Members of the European Parliament, to use their political influence that this SS-meeting can not come. If a country wants to have a proper place in the community of European nations, it must itself involve against fascist tradition and neo-fascism.

Never again an SS-Europe!