Press release of 15 June 2010
Friends and relatives of Aleksandras Barauskas,
Your Excellences Ambassadors,
Members of the Government and the Seimas,
Ūta villagers,
In 1948, staying in a forced exile and sharing Lithuanias tragedy with the whole nation, the Lithuanian poet Jonas Aistis wrote his well known words: One drop of blood would have cleansed you, but in your misery you missed it.
These two lines contained a number of questions that tormented most Lithuanians during the whole Soviet era: wasnt there indeed a single person in 1940 to resist the occupant, could it be so that Lithuania met its enemy without a single, at least symbolic shot of a gun?
Aleksandras Barauskas sacrifice gives a straightforward and clear answer: the poet was wrong. Blood was shed and that was blood of Aleksandras Barauskas, border police warrant officer.
The attack on Ūta frontier station and the cruel killing of Aleksandras Barauskas, the chief duty officer who was far-sightedly unwilling to open the gates of his state to the enemies is an extremely significant historical fact that denies the myth still harboured by some that Lithuania peacefully joined the USSR, that no force was used against the Republic of Lithuania and that the armed forces of the USSR were allowed to enter the territory of Lithuania.
All this is a palpable lie because the cynical homicide in Ūta took place long before the expiry of the ultimatum. The police warrant officer did something politicians and generals dared not do at that time, something that was subsequently repeated by post-war partisan fighters with tens of thousands of sacrifices in their unique struggle in the forests.
We are, therefore, commemorating an extremely painful day for Lithuania here today the 70th anniversary of the onset of communist occupation. It was here, on this soil, that the tragic events took place on an early morning of 15 June 1940, leading to half a century of occupation.
The 50 years produced two generations marked with the sign of occupation, hundreds of thousand of killed and injured, thousands of physically and spiritually crippled lives and almost half a million people forced to flee their homeland. The bloom of the nation was thus destroyed, the national and human values were trampled.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The name of Aleksandras Barauskas and his sacrifice to the Homeland has been inscribed in the most honourable pages of our nations history, next to the name of the first volunteer fighter Povilas Lukšys who lost his life for Lithuania in 1919, officer Antanas Juozapavičius as well as post-war partisans, heroes of January 13th, and Medininkai victims. This is not something that relatives of the patriot demand, this is what our nation and todays Lithuania needs and what we all need. We need it in order to untangle the knot of values that got abstruse during the years of occupation so that we could build our future on the solid foundation of truth.
Therefore, I sincerely support the Resolution adopted by the Seimas regarding commemoration and immortalization of the onset of the occupation and its first victim. Opening of a museum in Ūta to remind everyone of that atrocious morning of 15 June 1940 is truly essential. It also important to erect a proper monument for the first victim of the Soviet occupation in Lithuania. But what is even more important is that we nurture this monument in our memory and our hearts, nurture the enduring spirituality, our faithfulness to freedom fighters of all times and those who fell victim to Lithuanias freedom. Let us remember the words of the famous Lithuanian poet Maironis: Angels are wreathing a diamond wreath to those who have fallen
I sincerely believe that these words are also intended for Aleksandras Barauskas.
