December 10, 2000

Globe and Mail
Letters to the Editor
letters@globeandmail

Dear Editor,

Russia to revive Soviet anthem this week, published in the Globe and Mail on Dec 6, 2000,  should frighten us.

I suspect, however, that there will be few shivers as most of us have been deprived of exposure to the horrific Communist=Soviet=Russian past to know better.  It would be a shock to most to realize that the Communists in the former Soviet Union killed about 62 million people; throughout the world Communist regimes have been responsible for about 110 million deaths this century.  This is a shocking record of human genocide; there is nothing that even comes close to this, thank God.

It is very important to condemn Russia for this unacceptable step back towards the revival of symbols that have been the standards of its murderous past.  Liberal governments and groups around the world need to mount pressure on Mr. Putin to stop and call for his resignation, if need be.  We did no less when Mr. Haider of Austria came to political prominence with a mere hint of a smell of his Nazi past. This one has a deadly stench to it.

Failure by our government to do so is tantamount to condoning genocide.  Such facile acquiescence should frighten us as well.

With warm regards,

Oksana Bashuk Hepburn
1360 Aylmer Rd.,
Aylmer PQ J9H  5E1

819  771 0723
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NOTE:
The letter above appeared as a Letter to the Editor in the Dec. 14, 2000, issue of the Toronto Globe and Mail with the following sentence edited out:        

"We did no less when Mr. Haider of Austria came to political prominence with a mere hint of a smell of his Nazi past. This one has a deadly stench to it."