UPDATE: President Bush attended the dedication ceremonies today.
President George W. Bush addresses his remarks Tuesday, June 12, 2007, at the dedication ceremony for the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C. President Bush, in recalling the lessons of the Cold War said, “ that freedom is precious and cannot be taken for granted; that evil is real and must be confronted.” (White House photo by Joyce Boghosian)
The 20th century will be remembered as the deadliest century in human history. And the record of this brutal era is commemorated in memorials across this city. Yet, until now, our Nation’s Capital had no monument to the victims of imperial Communism, an ideology that took the lives of an estimated 100 million innocent men, women and children. So it’s fitting that we gather to remember those who perished at Communism’s hands, and dedicate this memorial that will enshrine their suffering and sacrifice in the conscience of the world.
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“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”
Twenty years ago today… President Ronald Reagan gave his historic speech (Video HERE) at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin that was broadcast into East Germany.
Powerline has the background on this bold historic speech.
The Opinion Journal has more on this historic day for freedom and democracy.
Today, on the 20th Anniversary of this speech, the “Goddess of Democracy” memorial will be dedicated in Washington DC to the millions of victims of communism.
“The Goddess of Democracy” was carved by students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China and erected in Tiananmen Square during the democracy protest in 1989.
Today the Victims of Communism Organization is dedicating a memorial to the millions and millions of vicitms of communism by unveiling the “Goddess of Democracy” statue in Washington, DC. The monument to victims of communism stands at the intersection of Massachusetts and New Jersey avenues, two blocks from Union Station.
The Washington Times reported:
Two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, conservative historian Lee Edwards began worrying that the world might forget the millions who suffered and died under communist regimes.
During a conversation at brunch with his wife, Anne, in 1990, he pondered how he could prevent those victims from becoming lost in history.
When his wife suggested building a memorial in Washington, he immediately scribbled the idea down on a napkin. Two days later, Mr. Edwards began to pursue a goal that would take 17 years, a bipartisan congressional bill and nearly $1 million to accomplish.
Today, the 20th anniversary of President Reagan’s bold demand for the destruction of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Edwards, 74, will realize that dream when he unveils the Victims of Communism memorial.
“It’s a great feeling of accomplishment, knowing that those 100 million victims are going to finally be memorialized and recognized,” he said.
President Bush will help dedicate the memorial, which is the only monument of its kind in the world, said Mr. Edwards, chairman of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, and Tom Lantos, California Democrat, also will speak at the ceremony.
“It’s a historic day, a day of dedication, a day of remembrance and also a day of resolution that we will not ever again permit so terrible an evil to terrorize the world,” Mr. Edwards said.
The memorial, called the “Goddess of Democracy,” is a bronze replica of the figure erected by Chinese students during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and subsequently destroyed by Chinese tanks. The democracy-minded students had modeled it after the Statue of Liberty.
The “Goddess of Liberty” statue is surrounded by flags representing various Chinese universities. This was taken before the government sent tanks and troops into the square and started firing on the hundreds of student protesters.
World Net Daily has more on the memorial.
Cal Thomas reports on the “Monunment to Murder” at Town Hall.
