The Liberal Reforming Party called on President Nicolae Timofti to found an Institute for Studying the Crimes of Communism that would work under the patronage of the head of state.

“The Institute for Studying the Crimes of Communism can be hosted by the Academy of Sciences, while the funds for running this research unit can consist of allocations from the Academy’s budget and of private donations. The institution will be headed by a director and two vice directors and will have minimum five researchers,” it is said in a statement of the Liberal Reforming Party that was read by MP Ana Gutu in a news conference at IPN.

The institute will examine archive files, written documents, audio and video recordings from the Soviet period. “The research results will serve as a legal basis for formulating a charge against the totalitarian-communist regime so as to condemn in the national courts of law the crimes committed by this regime against the residents of Moldova during the Soviet occupation period,” reads the statement.

The party’s leader Ion Hadarca said the Presidential Office is able to found such an institute, while the open letter addressed is an amicable proposal that should be considered.

The statement was signed by the lawmakers of the Liberal Reforming Party.