Heroes Monument in Riscani

CHISINAU, November 14, 2011 — The inauguration of the heroes monument in Riscani is an important event commemorating heroes of nation who died for the values they believed in, Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta stated Sunday, November 13, at the opening ceremony of a monument dedicated to heroes who died in war for independence and integrity of the Republic of Moldova, participants in the Afghan War and those who took part in the Chernobyl consequences removal operations.

The Minister of Defense laid flowers to the monument along with former and acting officials, including the head of Riscani district, Ion Parea, Minister of Internal Affairs, Alexei Roibu, representatives of the local public administration and former combatants. The guests attended the meeting dedicated to this event and kept a moment of silence for soldiers dead in war.

In his message to war veterans, the Minister of Defense stated the National Army staff are grateful to heroes who fought with courage and commitment to defend their fatherland.

“People who defended Republic of Moldova statehood deserve all our appreciation. A national has no present and future if it does not remember its past. We put one more stone to build the sovereign and independent state of Moldova today for this monument remembers those who died in war”, Minister Marinuta stated during the ceremony.

The monument started being built two months ago with the support of the War Veterans Association. The monument costs over 300 thousand MDL and the money was taken from the local budget and donations.

The official statistics show that nearly 12 500 Moldovan citizens took part in Afghan war. 300 of them died and 257 were seriously injured. The War on Dniester, which lasted from March to October 1992, killed 300 combatants, 400 civilians from the right bank of the Dniester River and over 800 people from the Transnistrian area. Of 3500 citizens of the Republic of Moldova to take part in the Chernobyl catastrophe relief operation, 10% died and 65% are invalids.