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The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania (Romanian: Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului în România) is a government-sponsored organization whose mission is to investigate the crimes and abuses conducted while Romania was under communist rule, prior to December 1989. Following the Romanian Revolution, Romania’s Communist government was overthrown and a democratic president was elected in May 1990.

The main objectives of the Institute are the gathering of data, documents and testimonies regarding all oppressive actions exerted by the system, and notifying the state’s criminal investigation departments. In addition, the Institute informs the public of the crimes, abuses and instigations to crime, conducted in the name of "class struggle" by the powerful people within the communist system.[1] The Institute was led for many years by Marius Oprea, president, a University of Bucharest graduate with a PhD in history who is an archeologist and historian;[2] since January 2020, it is being led by Alexandra Toader.[3]

The institute is a member organisation of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience.[4]

News

According to a 2006 report presented to Romanian President Traian Băsescu, up to one million people were killed or persecuted by communist authorities in Romania.[5]

In December 2009, France 24, the French-based news agency, reported on the Institute’s progress in documenting the communist crimes in Romania, including finding the buried remains of some of the many thousands of people alleged to have been murdered.[6]

International partners

The Institute has cooperation agreements with the Institute of National Remembrance and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, government agencies of Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively, tasked with the investigation of Nazi and Communist crimes.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Institute". Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2009-12-21. The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania website, Dec 2009
  2. ^ "Marius Oprea". Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2009-12-21. Institute website, Marius Oprea, Dec 2009
  3. ^ "Alexandra Toader, șefă la Institutul pentru Crimele Comunismului". romania.europalibera.org (in Romanian). January 17, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Czech Prime minister Petr Nečas: The years of totalitarianism were years of struggle for liberty". Platform of European Memory and Conscience. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  5. ^ Clej, Petru (December 18, 2006). "Romania exposes communist crimes". BBC News. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "Hunting for Romania's communist crimes". France 24. December 18, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "International Cooperation". Archived from the original on 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2009-12-21. Institute website, partners, Dec 2009

External links

National memory institutions
Anti-communism in Europe since 1989
Authority control databases
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