Press release, 15 June 2015
On 15 June 2015, the Seimas held a solemn siting to pay tribute to the victims of the Soviet occupation and genocide and to mark the Day of Mourning and Hope.
Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, emphasised that the cruel occupation of 1940 and the cynical and planned genocide of the Lithuanian nation irreversibly and substantially changed our nation’s life. The life of the nation which once, for more than two decades, lived an independent life, built its own state, introduced modern innovations, and brought to the world a talented generation of scientists, literary creators, and artists.
“With the help of the intelligentsia, the first independent Lithuania built a civil society which had a strong sense of ownership of their language and culture; they were learning about the majestic history of the Lithuanian nation and had a strong sense of their national identity and respect for freedom as an essential value of humanity. That society gave birth to and raised the generation which would have rather chosen an honourable death than blind slavery,” Mrs Graužinienė noted.
Jonas Kauneckas, Bishop Emeritus of Panevėžys, addressed the solemn sitting and stressed that for an entire decade Lithuania had been fighting without any tanks or powerful weapons and that it had stood all alone, with its population of three million against the population of 250 million, with no help from the outside world.
“We learnt to fight a war against which there was no defence. It is a kind of war which can always bring us to victory. Indeed, during the occupation, our nation tirelessly waged a true spiritual war against communism. One might wonder what made us so strong and invincible. The answer is faith”, the Bishop Emeritus said.
The father of Dalia Teišerskytė, Member of the Seimas, was arrested in 1946 and died in a forced labour camp; her mother, sister and one brother were deported in 1948. Ms Teišerskytė and her two other brothers were deported in 1953. The parliamentarian, survivor of the exile, recalled that challenging period; “Was it difficult? Yes. Was I unhappy? No. We lived in barracks; there were seven of us living in a single room... We lacked neither bread nor warmth. Because we were loved and united; we celebrated Easter and Christmas; we danced and sang songs. We shared the same troubles and similar desires, and the losses did not bypass almost any family... What did I learn? I learnt about independence, dignity, courage, self-sacrifice and responsibility... I am happy to have had such a family. I am happy to be the daughter of this Lithuania.”
|
|
The solemn sitting was also addressed by Julius Sabatauskas, Member of the Seimas, who was born in exile. His parents were deported twice, in 1941 and again in 1948.
The Member of the Seimas is convinced that even the most dramatic film plot will not be able to render the experience of people and their children who were released in the plain in Syktyvkar in the Komi land. As they did not have any barracks during the first winter, they settled in earth lodges they had dug themselves. Starvation, diseases and inhumane living conditions claimed many lives; survivors helped each other in all the ways they could. They shared their last crumb of bread, and strengthened their spirit by Lithuanian songs. Mr Sabatauskas stressed the immense mutual solidarity and the belief that one day they would somehow come back to Lithuania.
“Year over year, the number of living witnesses gathering to commemorate this tragic anniversary has been gradually shrinking. But more importantly, the purpose of marking this date is not only to preserve, in the hearts and minds of the survivors and in the memory of their children and grandchildren, this painful historical moment, which either injured or disrupted the fate of our people, but also to immortalise it to be recognised as an integral part of the entire nation’s history, bearing witness to the survival and huge losses of the nation,” the Member of the Seimas said.
Giedrius Tradišauskas, who took part in the project Mission Siberia 2014, is convinced that the Mission Siberia is the best lesson of history, patriotism and active citizenship. “We, the participants of the project, witnessed with our very own eyes that threats, hunger, and servitude-like work did not break the spirit of the Lithuanian nation. To tell you the truth, it filled me with pride when, having learnt where we came from, senior Russians that we met in the midst of the taiga had a high opinion of the Lithuanians, who had once lived there. They said that the deportees from Lithuania were good, hardworking, helping and freedom-craving people.”
Mr Tradišauskas believes that “every expedition, composed of young, enthusiastic, homeland-loving and independent people is a living proof that despite the tragic experience our nation could not be broken and managed to straighten up and that Lithuania is and will continue to be.”
During the commemoration, a Lithuanian tricolour flag was handed over to the participants of the expeditions to the places of deportation by the Members of the Seimas, exile survivors, namely Vida Marija Čigriejienė, Rimantas Jonas Dagys, Arimantas Dumčius, Vilija Filipovičienė, Donatas Jankauskas, Kazimieras Kuzminskas, Vincė Vaidevutė Margevičienė, Juozas Olekas, Julius Sabatauskas and Dalia Teišerskytė.
The solemn sitting was attended by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė; first Head of the restored independent Lithuania, President of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas, Vytautas Landsbergis, and his spouse; former speakers of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; Signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania – Members of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas; Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; Members of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; members of the first Government of the restored Republic of Lithuania; President and judges of the Constitutional Court; presidents of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Lithuania; Chief of Defence of Lithuania; hierarchs and representatives of churches in Lithuania; participants of the occupation resistance movements of 1940–1990, deportees, freedom fighters and their relatives; members of the initiative group of the reform movement Sąjūdis and Members of the Council of the Seimas; members of the Association Lemtis; participants of the project Mission Siberia 2015; students and teachers from the Marijos Pečkauskaitės High School in Židikai (Mažeikiai District) as the winners of the project History Live; heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Lithuania; Members of the European Parliament; heads of public institutions accountable to the Seimas; rectors of Lithuanian universities and academies; mayors of city and district municipalities of Lithuania; representatives of ethnic communities; and other distinguished guests.
Saulė Eglė Trembo, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: egle.trembo@lrs.lt
