The Seimas awarded the Freedom Prize 2023 to the European Parliament and Petras Plumpa, political prisoner and participant of the resistance movement

Press release, 23 November 2023 

The Seimas decided to award the Freedom Prize 2023 to the European Parliament and Petras Plumpa, participant in the Lithuanian unarmed anti-Soviet resistance, publicist and publisher of the underground press, political prisoner and contributor to the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. The appropriate parliamentary resolution (draft No XIVP-3310) was approved by 97 votes in favour and 13 abstentions.

The Freedom Prize is awarded to Petras Plumpa for his contribution to the struggle for Lithuania’s freedom and independence. The European Parliament receives the Prize for the current efforts to consolidate democracy and human rights, for the defence of the right of nations to free self-determination and sovereignty, for the unrelenting efforts towards historical justice, for support to the cause of Lithuania’s freedom and the aspiration of the Soviet-occupied Baltic States towards independence, for the diplomatic assistance to Lithuania that had just restored its independence, and for the contribution to EU integration. The presentation of the Freedom Prize is scheduled for the Day of the Defenders of Freedom on 13 January 2024.

In 1954, Petras Plumpa joined the activities of the anti-Soviet organisation of schoolchildren, co-published the illegal newspaper The Voice of Freedom, and disseminated anti-Soviet leaflets. He hoisted the flag of the independent inter-war Lithuania on the chimney of the Petrašiūnai Power Plant on 16 February 1958 and co-founded the organisation Freedom for Lithuania some time later. The arrest by the KGB for anti-Soviet activities was quick to follow. This led to his confinement in forced labour camps of Mordovia and Permy regions and the Chistopol prison between 1958 and 1965 and between 1973 and 1981. In 1969–1973, Plumpa published and distributed the books by Antanas Maceina, Juozas Girnius and Stasys Yla, the material on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and the literature received through Moscow’s dissidents. Between 1972 and 1973, Plumpa, side by side with Sigitas Tamkevičius, published the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. Petras Plumpa already holds the Cross of Commander of the Order of the Cross of Vytis and the Medal of the Independence of Lithuania.

‘Let us remember the times when the official communication about the Soviet occupation was rare. As far back as 1983, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution condemning the occupation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union. Next year we will mark the 40th anniversary of this Resolution. This shows that the European Parliament has always been an institution on the side of the free self-determination of nations. In September 1990, the first delegation of the European Parliament paid a visit to Lithuania. Young democracies always place a high premium on global support, and this support came to us. Following the tragic events on January 1991, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution condemning the aggression of the Soviet army. It is important that the European Parliament sticks to this approach until today by giving its full support to Ukraine and Moldova,’ noted Paulė Kuzmickienė, Chair of the Freedom Prize Commission of the Seimas.

Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

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 the self-determination and sovereignty of the nations in Central and Eastern Europe.

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