Romanian Army heroes commemorated in Chisinau

The heroes of the Romanian Army that died during World War II were commemorated on Thursday, October 25, at the Heroes’ Cemetery on Decebal St in Chisinau. During the demonstration organized by the Romanian Embassy, a synod of priests of the Metropolitan Church of Basarabia officiated a memorial service for the fallen soldiers. Romanian Ambassador Marius Lazurca spoke about the historical importance of the Romanian Army in building the Romanian state and about the need to commemorate its heroes, who sacrificed themselves for the country and the people. The Ambassador also urged the Chisinau authorities to rebuild the cemetery, ravaged during the Soviet occupation. “We issue a new appeal for the public authorities of Moldova first to clarify the juridical situation of this place and afterwards to join their efforts with ours in order to build a place for the commemoration of the heroes of several armies”, stated Marius Lazurca. The ceremony was attended by veterans of the Romanian Army, who recalled that in Soviet times people came secretly to the cemetery to remember the buried. “Unfortunately, the veterans of the Romanian Army didn’t have the same rights as those of the Soviet Army, who still label the former ‘fascists’”, said Ion Mahu, head of the organization of Romanian Army veterans in Moldova. Historian Ion Negrei, member of the initiative group that pleads for the reconstruction of the cemetery, said that the graveyard was destroyed during the Soviet era and a hospital was built on its place. In 2007, the land was sold to a foreign company and the cemetery has currently no legal status. According to the historian, at 1645 soldiers of six armies from the two World Wars are buried here.