Press release, 13 January 2014
On 13 of January 2014, the Seimas held a solemn sitting to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Day of the Defenders of Freedom and to award the Freedom Prize 2013.
At the TV Tower and the building of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Committee, the night of 13 January 1991 claimed the lives of the following people: Loreta Asanavičiūtė, Virginijus Druskis, Darius Gerbutavičius, Rolandas Jankauskas, Rimantas Juknevičius, Alvydas Kanapinskas, Algimantas Petras Kavoliukas, Vytautas Koncevičius, Vidas Maciulevičius, Titas Masiulis, Alvydas Matulka, Apolinaras Juozas Povilaitis, Ignas Šimulionis, Vytautas Vaitkus, and Vytautas Koncevičius and Stasys Mačiulskas (in February and April respectively), who died of injuries.
Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, delivered her introductory speech and welcomed the participants of the solemn sitting. The floor was also taken by Vytautas Landsbergis, first Head of State of the restored independent Lithuania and Chairman of the Supreme Council Reconstituent Seimas, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, Česlovas Juršėnas, Signatory to the Act of Independence, and Evaldas Bucininkas, youth representative and pupil of Mikalojaus Katkaus Gymnasium in Kėdainiai.
In her speech, Mrs Graužinienė underlined the importance of this historical date. The 13th of January is not only a living memory of our unity in our fight for freedom; it is much more, as it comes from the bottom of our hearts: love to Lithuania, the proof that if needed, we are ready to die for our homeland over and over again.
When considering whether we managed to implement our goals that were covered in blood of the victims of the events of 13 January 1991, Mr Landsbergis, Chairman of the Supreme Council Reconstituent Seimas, talked about the poignant aspects of modern society. Killing takes different shapes and modes. The interested people got used to killing, first and foremost, humanity and only then the individuals. Entire generations nowadays being killed spiritually and on a mass scale are the crimes against humanity today; while the cases are not heard even at single-sided trials as the Nuremberg trial was. Let us take a look around us with our eyes wide open and see what is happening around us, be it only in our own society or our schools. We must wage war of humanity and love against inhumanity and bullying.
Gintaras Grušas, Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius, stressed the role of a family in nurturing love for ones homeland. A man who learns how to make a sacrifice in a smallest community will not be afraid to make a sacrifice in society. The spirit of sacrifice is the result of love in a family. This, as Archbishop Grušas put it, was also proved during the events of 13 January 1991. At the time, our dearest people fathers, mothers, grandparents, children and grandchildren were staying on watch at the bonfires and guarding Lithuanias freedom. They were defending not only their personal but also their homelands freedom. Those people were ready to make a sacrifice for the sake of their relatives and future generations.
Česlovas Juršėnas, Signatory to the Act of Independence, emphasised self-sacrifice and unity. The people of Lithuania, both men and women, young and old, did not waiver; they did not fall back; they stood side by side, sang songs, prayed and, of course, sent curses to the attackers and their masters. So they managed to withstand and, this way, claim victory. Lithuania stayed united. Our parliament, the heart of Lithuania, was the centre of unity and resistance, as inscribed for life on the barricades put up on the 13th of January.
Evaldas Bucininkas, a pupil of Mikalojaus Katkaus Gymnasium in Kėdainiai, expressed his pride in the courage of the participants of the events of the 13th of January. However, he openly admitted having doubts whether he himself would dare to make such a sacrifice. I often find myself thinking what I would do if the memorable events of 13 January 1991 repeated themselves. Would I dare to go and fight for the freedom of Lithuania risking my own life? Of course, I can say now that if things repeated themselves again, I would fight, I would defend our country, and I would not allow any enemy to make any attempt on our freedom. But anyone can say this now. Perhaps, these are just nice words? After all, words and actions are two different things. I have no doubt that many of us can sometimes be brave. But I cannot but doubt whether we would be ready to sacrifice our lives for our country.
During the solemn sitting, the Freedom Prize 2013 was awarded to Archbishop Sigitas Juozas Tamkevičius, a fighter for the freedom of Lithuania, a human rights activist, active participant in the unarmed resistance in Lithuania, political prisoner, founder and editor of the underground publication Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, and member of the Catholic Committee for the Defence of the Rights of Believers.
The participants of the Seimas event also included Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania; Algirdas Butkevičius, Prime Minister; Eugeniusz Grzeszczak, Deputy Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland; former heads of state; relatives of the victims who died for the freedom and independence of Lithuania; witnesses of the events fatal for the state of Lithuania; victims of the Soviet aggression; freedom fighters; defenders of the freedom of Lithuania; signatories to the Act of Independence; Members of the Seimas and the Government; foreign ambassadors residing in Lithuania; and other distinguished guests.
Saulė Eglė Trembo, Public Relations Unit, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: [email protected]
