Kontonis's refusal to attend conference draws response

Addressing an international conference on crimes committed by communist regimes, Estonian Justice Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Wednesday that he would respond in writing to the refusal by his Greek counterpart, Stavros Kontonis, to attend the event in Tallinn.

"This letter will also issue a very clear justification why those kinds of activities are vital and necessary for our future as well as for the millions of victims," Reinsalu said in reference to the conference which was organized by the European Union's Estonian presidency. "I would say that this is not a political but a value-based and legal question. The basis of this is human dignity, which is indivisible."

The president of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Goran Lindblad, said it was "not necessary to compare or equalize different totalitarian regimes." "It is not important to people what...