In Sudinfo this Friday, group leader Diana Nikolic discusses the draft resolution she is bringing before the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation together with several MR and Les Engagés MPs. Her aim: to better equip young people against extremism and all forms of radicalisation, whether political, religious or ideological, and against the mechanisms that weaken democracy.
"In Belgium, we have rightly developed a strong memory and vigilance towards the far right. But a blind spot still remains in our collective memory regarding the crimes and excesses of communist regimes. My family history, marked by communist Yugoslavia, makes me particularly sensitive to this.".
For Diana Nikolic, this is neither about comparing suffering nor ranking totalitarianisms.
"I do not rank horrors. But our democratic compass must remain the same: fundamental freedoms, pluralism, the rule of law and the rejection of political violence. No regime that abolished them should benefit from any form of leniency or nostalgia."
Understanding better to protect democracy better
The proposal builds on memorial work already encouraged at European level. It also stems from a concrete observation: our education system covers Nazi totalitarianism extensively, and rightly so, but far less the mechanisms, repression and crimes of communist regimes.
The text therefore calls for strengthening the teaching of fascist and far-right ideologies and, with the same historical and educational rigour, that of totalitarian communist regimes and their consequences.
But its ambition goes further. The resolution targets all forms of extremism and radicalisation, whether political, religious or ideological, and emphasises critical thinking, the distinction between facts, opinions and beliefs, and learning about democratic pluralism. This is precisely the scope set out in the proposal.
"A living democracy accepts disagreement, even radical disagreement. But challenging is not intimidating, demonstrating is not attacking, and defending a cause never grants a licence for violence."
Strengthening school curricula frameworks
The text calls in particular for strengthening school curricula frameworks, developing educational tools on extremism, encouraging academic research and initiatives, mobilising the youth and lifelong education sectors, and organising a tribute to the victims of Stalinism and Nazism. It also aims to explicitly integrate the prevention of violence as a form of political expression and protest into the CRACS approach to youth policy.
Finally, on the eve of the International Day of Democracy on 15 September, the resolution calls on the federal government to examine the possibility of legislation concerning the denial, minimisation, justification or approval of crimes committed by communist regimes.
"The aim is not to teach young people what to think. It is to give them the tools to understand History, recognise the mechanisms that weaken a democracy, and defend their ideas without ever giving up democratic rules."