Press release, 10 September 2015
At a ceremony in the Seimas, Dr Alicia Rodriguez Fernandez, President of the International Committee for the Banner of Peace, a UN non-governmental organisation, presented to Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, the Banner of Peace and designated Lithuania as the Republic of Peace.
Dr Rodriguez presented the Banner of Peace to our country having assessed Lithuania’s contribution in spreading the culture of Peace after the 15th of April was declared as the Universal Day of Culture in Lithuania, a day when the Banner of Peace is hoisted across the country, while towns and schools are being designated as the bearers of peace. Auksė Narvilienė, Coordinator of the International Committee for the Banner of Peace in Lithuania, says that Lithuania is the first country in the world to receive the title of the Republic of Peace.
As she accepted the Banner of Peace, the Speaker of the Seimas stressed that peace had been an eternal value at all times and in all the continents. “It stands for relations without war and discord. Unfortunately, history and the current complicated geopolitical situation demonstrate that humanity still cannot avoid disagreements. Peace is inseparable from the responsibility of each and every one of us as well as from the way we understand values, from our world-view, and from our choices,” Mrs Graužinienė claimed.
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Dr Alicia Rodriguez Fernandez, President of the UN International Committee for the Banner of Peace, presented to Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, the Banner of Peace and designated Lithuania as the Republic of Peace (Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas) |
Having expressed her appreciation to Dr Rodriguez for the beautiful initiative, the Speaker of the Seimas highlighted that even though it was more of a symbolic initiative, it was nevertheless a truly noble one and significant to every one of us, as it urged us to think as to what we could personally do right now for the sake of peace.
The Speaker of the Seimas invited everyone to love their homeland, respect their own and other nations, cultural diversity and human rights, protect and cherish their real home that is our planet, and actively express their position as citizens when adopting decisions crucial for our and our children’s future.
Participants of the ceremony were also welcomed by Raimundas Paliukas, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Education, Science and Culture, and Auksė Narvilienė, Coordinator of the International Committee for the Banner of Peace in Lithuania.
The solemnly presented Banner of Peace will be exhibited in Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas Hall, Building 1 of the Seimas.
The beginnings of the Banner of Peace date back to the signing of the Roerich Pact 80 years ago, committing its signatories to protect the monuments of art, science and history in time of peace as well as in time of war. The Roerich Pact formed the basis of the 1954 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 Hague Convention). A triple red sphere in a red circle on a white background was chosen as the symbol of the banner.
The Banner of Peace is a symbolic commitment to protect the artistic, scientific and cultural values of human kind and protect peace at the same time. Dr Rodriguez claims that while the Roerich Pact has previously been closer tied to the protection of cultural values, it is now becoming more of an idea of peaceful cooperation between countries, nations and religions for the existence of humanity itself.
Nerijus Vėta, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6210, e-mail: [email protected]
