A coalition of bipartisan lawmakers announced the inception of a caucus dedicated to raising awareness about the cost communism has imposed on human life around the world on Tuesday.
The caucus, announced on the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, includes GOP Reps. Dennis A. Ross of Florida and Chris Smith of New Jersey as well as Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Dan Lipinski of Illinois. The lawmakers intend to focus on addressing Russian expansion in Ukraine, North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and escalating human rights abuses committed by authoritarian regimes like Venezuela and Cuba.
“We should not be lulled into thinking that communism is no longer a threat to freedom in the world, given that many people still toil under its hateful, totalitarian rule,” said Congressman Ross in a statement announcing the group. “Our caucus will ensure that we do not forget those victims who were forced to choose between their faith and the cruelty of a dictatorship. We must hold fast to the virtues of freedom.”
Executive Director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Marion Smith praised the lawmakers for forming the caucus.
“There is no more fitting occasion than the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution to announce the Victims of Communism Caucus. It sends a powerful message on behalf of the more than 100 million people victimized by communism in the last century and one fifth of the world’s population who still live in a single party state that adheres to this failed ideology,” Smith said in a statement included in the group’s announcement press release.
Lipinski cited his personal experience witnessing the fall of communism as a motivating factor in his participation and said the group will perform a useful role in educating younger generations who never witnessed communism first hand.
“I will never forget my experiences in Berlin at the fall of the Wall in 1989,” Lipinski said. “As we approach the 28th anniversary of that day, we now have about a third of the U.S. population that has lived in a world without the Soviet Union. It is our duty to tell these stories, the truth about communism, and preserve this history for all generations. I am proud to join my fellow co-chairs in establishing the Victims of Communism Caucus.”
The group’s announcement comes one day after the White House commemorated the more than 100 million people who perished under communism in the twentieth century.
A Buzzfeed reporter called the event a “White Nationalist talking point.” (RELATED: BuzzFeed Reporter: ‘Victims of Communism’ Is A White Nationalist Talking Point)
The reporter later apologized and deleted the tweet in which the accusation was made.
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