Laar Receives Award for Shedding Light on Communist Crimes
The Terrorhaza Museum in Hungary has given Estonian Minister of Defense Mart Laar the Sándor Petöfi Award on December 14 for his contributions to investigating the crimes of communism.
Laar said that he felt honored by the recognition. “I am glad that European countries have worked together so well to raise awareness on communist crimes and condemn them in the European Parliament,” said Laar.
The award, which bears the name of a Hungarian national poet and revolutionary, was first given out in 2009. It is awarded to "a person who has significantly contributed to promoting freedom in Eastern and Central European nations."
Last year, it went to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum, who has written extensively about communism and the development of European post-communist nations.
Ingrid Teesalu