Gallery: Estonian, Latvian presidents mark Baltic Way anniversary
On Friday, President Alar Karis and his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkēvičs visited the former border crossing at Lilli/Ungru to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Baltic chain.
Karis recalled his family's memories of the Baltic chain, which saw approximately two million people form a human chain from Tallinn to Vilnius to protest the USSR's occupation of the Baltic states on August 23, 1989.
"Our family – Sirje, me and our two sons – stood in the Baltic Way somewhere between Nuia and Lilli, because there were so many people that we could not fit before. I remember the proud feeling that something big was about to happen and we were here too. Something like this is something you can experience very rarely, maybe only once in a lifetime," the president said.
The peaceful protest was visible to the whole world.
"Those who remember know what those three words meant – Freedom! Brīvība! Laisvė!" Karis stressed in his speech.
35 yrs since #BalticWay—a human chain from Tallinn to Riga to Vilnius. It symbolized the unity & yearning for freedom of Estonians, Latvians, & Lithuanians.
— Alar Karis (@AlarKaris) August 23, 2024
I'll never forget those words: Vabadus! Brīvība! Laisvė!
With President @edgarsrinkevics at Lilli-Unguriņi border point. pic.twitter.com/O5FhOmL8RQ
The three countries sticking together made them three times stronger, he added.
"And three times louder was our demand to tear up the Stalin–Hitler secret pact, the infamous MRP [Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact], after their foreign ministers deprived the Baltic States and many of our fellow citizens of their freedom," said the Estonian head of state.
"The Baltic Way is a testimony to how subjugated nations can break their shackles if they have the courage, determination, faith, hope and the ability to see and seize the window of opportunity."
Restoring one's own country, consolidating democracy and freedom, getting out of a geopolitically unprecedented land – all this, Karis said, is an experience that needs to be shared.
Valsts prezidents @edgarsrinkevics: Baltijas valstu spēks ir vienotībā un savstarpējā atbalstā
— Valsts prezidenta kanceleja (@Rigas_pils) August 23, 2024
Valsts prezidenta uzruna, tiekoties ar prezidentu @AlarKaris un pierobežā dzīvojošajiem iedzīvotājiem Baltijas ceļa 35. gadadienā:
https://t.co/S0rozJuSOU pic.twitter.com/XzL3L8hz2I
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Editor: Helen Wright
