tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605495417463810012.post6701468825078850091..comments2024-03-06T10:16:40.696+00:00Comments on PhD studies in human rights: Katyn: Amnesia in StrasbourgWilliam A. Schabashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17552332133145290879noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605495417463810012.post-50219527172872086072013-11-01T07:50:07.030+00:002013-11-01T07:50:07.030+00:00One minor correction - entry into force of the Eur...One minor correction - entry into force of the European HR Convention in respect of Russia is not 1996 but 1998 (5 May).<br /><br />Ireneusz C. KaminskiAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16776446504929173549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605495417463810012.post-54553492208731725122013-10-23T00:03:42.898+01:002013-10-23T00:03:42.898+01:00Admitting, apologising and making details availabl...Admitting, apologising and making details available of past crimes committed by national administrations does help relatives come to terms with their loss and build trust for better relations in the future. There is also a time for victim’s relatives to forgive and look forwards. This horrific crime, the execution of 22,500 of Poland’s elite, happened one to four generations ago, depending on your age. All those involved died long ago, there is no one to prosecute, Russia has now admitted responsibility, apologised and named those murdered, what more do we want? I must take a lead from my grandmother who, having spent 16 years in the gulags of the USSR, was able to forgive and move forward. Her uplifting and inspiring memoir is described at http://3650daysinthegulag.com/ She never knew the exact fate of her husband, but we now know that he was on the Katyn list and is probably in a mass grave at Bykownia near Kiev.<br />I miss the grandfather that I never knew, and what actually upsets me most is that the British government took almost 50 years to acknowledge the culprits of this crime. By 1943 Churchill knew that the Soviets were responsible, he opposed a Red Cross investigation and said, ‘we should none of us ever speak a word about it’. Much anguish suffered by the Poles, dispossessed of a homeland and dispersed around the world, would have been eased if they knew the truth many years ago.<br />I apologise for the inappropriate photo taken from our Hiddenglen YouTube video. I don’t know how to change it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00677678245769509401noreply@blogger.com