Lib Dem MEP calls for Holocaust Memorial Day to be marked with a Public Holiday

12.00.00am GMT Fri 26th Jan 2001

The Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow (Saturday) should in future be marked by a public holiday to highlight the remembrance of the 'defining human horror of the twentieth century', according to Diana Wallis MEP.

Ms Wallis said that the genocide of the Jewish people in Europe was the most potent symbol of humanity's potential for barbarism.

"Every civilised society should remember the Holocaust," said Diana Wallis, "as a way of educating successive generations in the values of tolerance and respect for others' differences.

"This is particularly important in Europe, our dark continent, where the holocaust happened and where it is so important for different ethnic, religious and language groups to live together in harmony.

"As we saw in Bosnia and Kosovo, the ghosts of Europe's cruel past have not yet been laid to rest. Nor has England always been the tolerant place.

"I think a decision to mark Holocaust Memorial Day by a public holiday is the most appropriate way we can signal our commitment to tolerance."

Diana Wallis will be attending a Holocaust Memorial Ceremony at Victoria Gardens in Leeds on Sunday.

The 27 January 2001 is the first UK Holocaust Memorial Day. The day marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.