Dublin, 2 December 2014. The Minister of State with special responsibility for New Communities, Culture and Equality, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin TD, today launched “Totalitarianism in Europe”, an international travelling exhibition by the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, at the European Parliament Information Office in Ireland on Molesworth Street. Ireland is the thirteenth country on the exhibition’s journey. So far, “Totalitarianism in Europe” has been presented in Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, the European Parliament in Brussels, Romania, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine and most recently, Latvia.

Excerpt from Minister Ó Ríordáin’s  speech:

“We can never allow ourselves to forget the realities of this period in European history. We can only have confidence that these horrors will not be repeated when we face the past honestly and with rigour, and when there is accountability within all societies for the crimes of the past. Not a glorification of empire, or of tyrants, but a willingness to look into the dark soul of the past and make a brighter and freer and fairer future for one’s own people while living at peace with one’s neighbours.

“Making sure that the wars and industrialised genocides of the 20th century cannot be repeated requires courage and vigilance from all of us. For EU Member States it requires being true to our values and it requires that we practice what we preach. It requires us to reject intolerance and give special recognition to vulnerable minorities, including Roma and other national or linguistic minorities as well as sexual minorities”.