On late evening of 23 August, the Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Loreta Graužinienė, the Speaker of the Latvian Saeima Solvita Āboltiņa, and the President of the Riigikogu Eiki Nestor opened the Baltic Way Monument in Saločiai, Lithuania.

In his speech, Nestor called the Baltic Way a wake-up call for the empire that had occupied us, as well as for the nations who were enjoying their freedom and who had forgotten us.

He stressed that the message of our freedom has lost none of its importance over the years. “At a time when European borders are under threat of being reshaped by force, the message of freedom is more valuable than ever before. We are again in need of acts that are noticed near and far and that confirm our unwavering dedication to the defence of our freedom,” Nestor said.

“May our open and tolerant societies set us clearly apart from those which have chosen to base their national identities on incitement of xenophobia and repression of civil liberties. May the spirit of the Baltic Way carry us to the future as free, tolerant and dignified nations.”

25 years ago, on 23 August 1989, the citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania expressed their yearning for freedom by forming a human chain from Tall Hermann tower in Tallinn to Gediminas’ Tower in Vilnius. The Baltic Way was entered in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2009 as an influential peaceful action.

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The Riigikogu Press Service

Kati Varblane

Phone: 631 6353; 5169152

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