The plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies adopted on Tuesday, with 235 favorable votes and one abstention, a bill that officially establishes Romanian Prisoners of War Day, celebrated annually on August 24.
Chamber of Deputies. Photo: Shutterstock
Considering that the Parliament adopted the project in a decision-making regime, it will be sent for promulgation.
The draft law was initiated by PSD and aims to supplement Law no. 44/1994 on war veterans, as well as the rights of invalids and war widows. Thus, August 24 will become a day dedicated to the commemoration of Romanian prisoners of war, especially those who suffered during the Second World War.
This date was chosen for “the sacrifices made by the Romanian prisoners of war from the Second World War, forced to endure the horrors and inhumane treatment in the forced labor camps and for their devotion to Romania, not accepting to betray the homeland, in gratitude and in their memory “explained the initiators of the project.
Despite the historical importance, Romanian legislation did not provide for an official commemoration day for Romanian prisoners of war from the Second World War, unlike other categories of victims of totalitarian regimes. The parliamentarians emphasized that, currently, there are national, European and international days dedicated to the victims of authoritarian regimes, deportees, those interned in camps or political prisoners, but not for Romanian prisoners of war.
