2011 

1 July 2011

 

Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, on her visit to Lithuania. Together they paid tribute to the memory of the Lithuanian freedom fighters by laying flowers at the Memorial of January 13 at the Seimas.

At her meeting with Ms Clinton, the Speaker of the Seimas gave a brief account of Lithuania’s fight for freedom twenty years ago.

“I am delighted to welcome you to the most important building of Lithuania which witnessed the defence of our freedom and independence. Since the 1991 freedom fights, the building has been referred to as the heart of Lithuania – the last bastion that the Soviet aggressors could not seize. The most powerful empire at that time did not have the courage to attack tens of thousands of unarmed people who gathered praying around the building,” said Mrs Degutienė.

Accompanied by the Speaker of the Seimas, Ms Clinton visited the exhibition Road to Freedom in the Seimas Hall covering the historical period of Lithuania, the so-called war after war, when thousands of young Lithuanian men in forests were fighting against the Soviet occupants in the aftermath of World War II.

“At that time our freedom fighters did not expect to defeat the powerful war machine on their own; they expected to receive help from the West, particularly the United States. Unfortunately, their hopes remained unfulfilled. Therefore, it is especially important for us that today we stand side by side in one fight for freedom and democracy. Lithuania understands it better than any other state that freedom must be protected and defended. Thus, if a danger arises, we hope not to be left alone as it was in the post-war years. We also hope for your significant, strong and clear support,” Mrs Degutienė noted.

After the meeting Ms Clinton was invited to sign in the Seimas guest book which held inscriptions by the honoured guests dating as far back as 1994.

“It was a great honour for me to be in the place where the Lithuanians defended their freedom twenty years ago and see clear democratic achievements of the present. God bless Lithuania,” Ms Clinton wrote.

After the meeting, the US Secretary of State, together with the Speaker of the Seimas and Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian ministers of foreign affairs attending the ceremony laid flowers at the Monument of January 13 at the Seimas.

 

Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas

Juozas Ruzgys, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6023, 698 42073