Reagan speelde als president een beslissende rol bij het beëindigen van de Koude Oorlog en in het kielzog daarvan het einde van de Sovjet-Unie. ''Die eer wordt door velen toegeschreven aan Michail Gorbatsjov, maar die heeft zich enkel overgegeven aan wat onvermijdelijk was geworden'', meent voorzitter Grover Norquist van het Ronald Reagan Legacy Project. Om dat te benadrukken, zegt Norquist dat er inmiddels elf monumenten zijn voor Reagan in Oost-Europa. ''En niet één van Gorbatsjov.''
De Economics Freedom Foundation heeft al een ontwerp laten maken door architect Kostjantin Skritiski en werkt nu aan de vergunningaanvraag voor de plaatsing van het monument. ''Wij vinden het belangrijk om Reagan te eren. Indertijd sprak hij tot vertegenwoordigers van de Oekraïense gemeenschap in zijn land met de woorden 'Uw strijd is de onze' en hij maakte een eind aan het totalitaire regime van de Sovjet-Unie'', aldus voorzitter Marjan Zablotski van de Economics Freedom Foundation.
Bron: Unian
Since 2011, monuments
to Reagan have been erected Europe, and now pro-freedom officials in
Ukraine, still threatened by Moscow, wants to put a statue of the Gipper
in the center of Kyiv and on the spot where the bronze of a former
communist leader stood until the Soviet Union broke up, the Washington
Examiner reports.
The project of the Ukrainian Economic Freedoms Foundation is being
promoted by the Washington-based Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, founded
by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist.
"There are now 11 monuments or statues in Eastern Europe celebrating
Ronald Reagan's leadership in winning the Cold War. There are none in
Massachusetts," said Norquist.
"Those 'intellectuals' who like to pretend that [the last Soviet leader]
Mikhail Gorbachev played a role in ending the Cold War – other than by
surrendering – should note there are no monuments to Gorbachev in the
liberated former Soviet colonies," he added.
The Ukraine effort was also endorsed by the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Foundation and Institute in California.
Read also
Ten Soviet monuments not yet dismantled in Kyiv (List)
"We've been proud to be part of other great efforts like this before
from London to Warsaw and from Tbilisi to Budapest. We encourage them
wherever possible. In essence, they're acts of heroism. Just like
President Reagan, they symbolize courage in the face of evil and they
should be supported at every turn," said the foundation's Executive
Director John Heubusch.
If approved, the Reagan monument would be placed on the former site of a
statue of Communist criminal Dmytro Manuilsky. The statue was destroyed
in 2014 during the Revolution of Dignity.
"Ukrainian Economic Freedoms Foundation is looking to get permit to
build a monument to Ronald Reagan in the Kyiv city center, on the place
where the statue of former communist leader stood up until it was
demolished during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity," said Maryan
Zablotskyy, President of the Ukrainian Economic Freedoms Foundation.
"This is to underline the great impact Reagan had on the destruction of
Communism. Reagan met Ukrainian diaspora and proclaimed: 'your struggle
is our struggle.' And we are forever thankful for that. Ukraine now has
special laws in place that forbid the use of any communist regalia and
symbols. We think this victory over totalitarianism should be polished
with a monument to Reagan, who led the anti-communist movement globally.
We have so far developed a concept of the monument with the help of
locally known architect Kostyantyn Skrytytsky and will be going through
necessary public debates and permit procedure."
Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/kiev/1990291-reagan-statue-to-replace-communist-in-kyiv-square-called-act-of-heroism-washington-examiner.html
Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/kiev/1990291-reagan-statue-to-replace-communist-in-kyiv-square-called-act-of-heroism-washington-examiner.html
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