Relatives Relatives of freedom defenders, who perished on 13 January,
Your Excellency Madam President,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors,
Members of the Seimas and Government,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Lithuania is commemorating the events that happened nineteen years ago. 13 January 1991 has been inscribed in our history forever and bears not only the signs of a great tragedy, pain, and blood, but also by the signs of great hope, purification, and true unity. That night united us and made us honest with each other, with ourselves, and to God as never before. Let us recall that feeling once again. Let us recall the flames that warmed our hands and our hearts. Let us recall the mug of tea stretched to us with love by a stranger. Let us recall the freedom defenders, both those who have come back and those, who having left to defend freedom remained in that freedom eternally. Let us recall them and pay tribute to their sacred memory by observing a minute of silence...Thank you.
Nevertheless, it was not only the fallen ones, but also the defenders of the Parliament, the TV Tower, and the television and radio buildings, who left behind everything they had achieved and joined the front lines against soviet aggressors for their free Homeland, for free Lithuania. Other Lithuanian people also stood side by side, and their presence on the road of truth infused mutual trust and extraordinary peace.
Today we want to remember a united, focused, and respectable Lithuania, the united Lithuania of that time which spoke with one voice. However, we must remain fair and just in the face of this moment of our history: there were those who took another rout and were not heading towards the symbols of independent Lithuania, which were attacked by the soviet invaders on 13 January, and did not turn their eyes towards the breaking dawn of freedom.
Some did not hear heard a very loud call by Bernardas Brazdžionis, the bard of our nation: [free interpretation of the poem] On behalf of your ancestors, / I call on you to escape from the dark / and to light a new fire in your hearts, / and leave the horrible night to slaves.
The bondage of the Soviet night oppressed a number of people in Lithuania, who tried to break away from the darkness of occupation, who cautiously watched threatening signs of aggression and cared for their personal future rather than for the future of the state of Lithuania. Unfortunately, that was the reality which the majority of us do not even want to remember today. Cleavage and erosion that had been planted by the invaders a long time ago have deeply rooted in our lives.
Therefore today there are justified questions to be asked: Have we learnt the lessons of history? Have we remained what we were nineteen years ago? What is our inner world like? Havent the erosion that was so deeply rooted at that time and pursuit of personal benefit become inherent parts of our lives?
At that time we were led and summoned by two words: freedom and independence. At that time we neither counted each others wealth nor thought who was better off. At that time we wanted to live in a free and independent country, and to build the future for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren. Those were the things that united us. Today, after clearly visible threats have vanished, eternal and spiritual values seem to have retreated to the background. Today we value material things only.
Has this reality defeated us already? Has this reality become stronger than our desire to live in a truly free and independent Lithuania? Which Lithuania do we prefer to live in: the Lithuania of the 13 January miracle, or the country of economic and energy slavery?
13 January has purified our morality and belief; it provided us with mental strength to walk along the road of freedom, the road of sacrifice and courage uniting the nation and surprising the world.
It is in defence of the values of our chosen road that the Lithuanian heroes died on 13 January. Therefore, let us not undermine the importance of their deed and their memory for the sake of narrow ephemeral interests, a cheaper cubic meter of gas or a kilowatt-hour of electricity. We have to learn to live a free and dignified life and defend our state and independence, as well as continue to stay on the road we have been on since the times of our national revival and 13 January. If there is a minute of doubt whether or not we behave just and fair, let us mentally consult the fallen freedom defenders. In the face of death and eternity, many things acquire the enlightening quality of true wisdom, dignity, freedom, and genuine peace.
Unfortunately, we lack this sort of peace today in Lithuania. Frequent rows, gusts of anger, never-ending distrust, accusations, and conspiracies have pushed away something truly valuable from our lives. Indifference, thirst for material wealth, aggression, and thinking only about the presence have become everyday phenomena.
By the way, probably we all remember that those historic January days carried the slogan Lets stop the aggression. Paradoxical or vexatious as it is, this slogan is relevant even today.
Twenty years of independence have proved that the road to consolidation of statehood and independence is difficult. But there are no other alternatives to it. Just like there are no alternatives to personal and national freedom. All those, who have perished for the sake of freedom the volunteers of 1918, the after-war freedom fighters, and those who perished in 1991 proved that love for their Homeland and devotion to their independent state, respect for humans and human dignity are stronger than weapons of the invaders and even stronger than death.
I am sincerely grateful to those who have their belief, and whose words and deeds translate their belief into reality. I am grateful to the people of Lithuania, who resisted the darkness of occupation and the night of slavery, and who have chosen to live in a free and independent state of Lithuania!
