Riigikogu speaker attends Gotland ceremony marking great flight 80th annivesary
Riigikogu Speaker Lauri Hussar (Eesti 200) is on an official visit to the Swedish island of Gotland, marking the 80th anniversary of the autumn 1944 great flight, when large numbers of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians left their home countries for the West.
Speaker Hussar is representing Estonia and accompanied by his counterparts from the other two Baltic states in an official visit to Gotland, to attend events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the great flight, also known as the Great Escape.
In the last months of World War Two, the exodus saw 75,000–80,000 people leave Estonia alone, destined for Western countries in the face of the advancing Red Army.
Altogether, nearly 300,000 people escaped from all three Baltic states, and Gotland was one of of the major first jumping off points.
The escape reached its peak in the second half of September 1944, and refugees went in significant numbers to countries such as West Germany, the U.K., the U.S. and Canada, as well as to mainland Sweden.
Speaker of the Riksdag of Sweden Andreas Norlén is hosting the Baltic states' speakers
On Friday, the leaders of the parliaments of all four countries met with Governor of Gotland County Anders Flanking and visited the local Gotland Regiment.
Latvia is being represented on the visit by Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa, and Lithuania by Deputy Speaker of the Seimas Žygimantas Pavilionis.
On Friday evening, Hussar, Mieriņa and Pavilionis took part in a wreath laying ceremony in Slite and the memorial service at Visby Cathedral, in Gotland's capital.
On Saturday, they are due to visit the Baltic Center for Writers and Translators, which promotes literature and cultural exchange with the Baltic Sea nations, and will meet with the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian communities living on Gotland.
In addition to being significant during the Great Flight, Gotland, which even has an Estonian name – Ojamaa – is of present-day key strategic importance, given its location in the middle of the Baltic and between the mainland Swedish and Latvian coasts.
For this reason, the changed security situation and with Sweden now a NATO member after two centuries of neutrality, the island's military capabilities are being further strengthened.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Riigikogu Office
