Seimas solemnly commemorated the Day of the Defenders of Freedom

Press release, 13 January 2020

Photo by Džoja Gunda Barysaitė, Office of the Seimas

On 13 January 2020, the Seimas hosted a solemn commemoration of the Day of the Defenders of Freedom and an award ceremony of the Freedom Prize.

In his opening speech, Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, underlined that all those who had understood what the day of 13 January 1991 meant could tell that life before and after that night had really differed, like night and day. That night represented a breaking point in the history of our nation, marking a change in our collective consciousness. The Speaker of the Seimas was convinced that not everyone back then had fully understood how much the bloody night had changed everything and what changes it would bring, and that the people had not sacrificed their lives in vain.

Mr Pranckietis continued by saying that there was always an easier way. ‘But it is the choice of a meaningful path, meaningful life and meaningful existence, which the defenders of freedom made in those days and on that night, that we are grateful for,’ the Speaker of the Seimas said. He expressed hope that this day would be as important a calendar day as February 16 and March 11. ‘May this day be a day of stories to our youngsters about our contemporary heroes, so that the love for homeland in each Lithuanian heart becomes a small branch of a strongly braided wreath that represents this country named Lithuania,’ Mr Pranckietis said.

Photo by Džoja Gunda Barysaitė, Office of the Seimas

Robertas Gradauskas, defender of freedom, was convinced that unity and solidarity were key to further developments and today’s achievements.

‘International history shows that evil has not vanished anywhere, and that tanks may have retreated but malicious intentions and interests of hostile states have stayed,’ the defender of freedom said. He argued that ‘although the world is bogged in anger, ambitiousness, and imperialistic whims of occupying or depriving, the qualities which help us remain independent and free have survived to this day. They include the desire for freedom, courage to dream and accomplish objectives, and, above all, the same trust that we had in each other on January 13, when we joined our hands and stood shoulder to shoulder. It is the same trust we placed on those who were present in this hall and we knew that we all stood for the sake of Lithuania and its people. We all stood for the same cause’.

Mr Gradauskas underlined that exactly the same qualities were needed for both contemporary young people and everyone around those young people. The defender of freedom went on to saying that ‘I would tell to a young person or my son, for instance, who is 21 years old now, that I trust him. I trust that he will defend Lithuania and create, foster and cherish his homeland so that we can take pride in him and younger generation in general.’

Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius, winner of the Freedom Prize 2013, stressed that ‘a free person is not the one who behaves recklessly but rather the one who values the truth. It is the one who does not treat other people as rivals or, what is worse, as a thing that can be used but rather as brothers and sisters to whom they need to be and should be of service.’ The Cardinal thought that we had lost this understanding over the 29 years because we had put too much faith in the power of mammon while our true faith had weakened. The winner of the Freedom Prize 2013 believed that ‘money and wealth have become an idol to be worshiped. Therefore, instead of building Lithuania, many simply chose to blame others for failure to do so.’

Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius also said that many people tended to complain about the dishonesty of public officials, corruption, and indifference towards an ordinary citizen. Yet he believed that those who neither feared God nor loved their close ones did not come about by chance and that ‘it was us who have brought them up’. Cardinal Sigitas Tamkevičius was convinced that ‘Lithuania will become a better place to live only once everyone – men of God and secular people, people in power and ordinary citizens – undertake the responsibility for the future of their homeland and at least try to change themselves by eliminating malice and disdain from their hearts’.

Rimas Sakalauskas, a video artist and a son of Antanas Sakalauskas, a defender of freedom, expressed his appreciation of the cultural achievements of Lithuania and took note of the fact that culture was all too often haunted by Soviet ghosts. He claimed that nomenclature mind-set, prison rules and fraudulent accounting practices were prevalent in the Lithuanian cultural sector. ‘Remainders of the enemy of January 13th seem to have a staying power within ourselves; and this external enemy, to some extent, has trickled into our consciousness,’ the son of the defender of freedom said.  

Mr Sakalauskas believed that a younger generation would not necessarily be better that the older one. ‘To make this younger generation better, we need to invest in it. Today’s student is tomorrow’s businessman, artist or scholar,’ Mr Sakalauskas stressed.

At a solemn ceremony, the Freedom Prize 2019 was awarded to Albinas Kentra, a member of freedom fights and a chevalier of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. The Freedom Prize honours individuals and organisations for their achievements in and contribution to the defence of human rights, development of democracy, and promotion of international cooperation for the cause of self-determination and sovereignty of the nations in Eastern and Central Europe.

To view photos of the event click here.

Rimas Rudaitis, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6132, e-mail: [email protected]