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On Friday, June 14th, which is celebrated as Day of Mourning and Hope in Lithuania, President Dalia Grybauskaitė paid tribute to the victims of the Soviet mass deportations.

In a special commemoration ceremony held in the Parliament, the president stressed the need to preserve the truth about the mass deportations carried out by the Soviet authorities.

“Each year June 14th reminds us of the painful history that cannot and will not be deleted, because it lives in the memory of our state and our people”, - the president noted.

“Some say history is made of facts and testimonies no less than of interpretations of those facts and testimonies. But today, while standing here and remembering the victims of occupation, genocide and Soviet repression, we must all bear witness to the truth, even if someone considers the truth being embarrassing and redundant,” – President Grybauskaitė underlined.

According to her, only truth and honesty can prevent manipulation of history, help governments to counter information security threats, and increase trust in each other.

On June 14, 1941, the Soviet authorities launched an unprecedented wave of mass deportations from the Baltic States, then occupied by the Soviet Union. All in all, more than 280 thousand people were deported from Lithuania to forced labor camps in Siberia and other parts of USSR during five decades of Soviet occupation.

"It's been real people, taken away from their home and families, tucked into cattle cars and sent to face death. But these people made every effort to take hold on life – they helped each other, they shared their last morsel with each other, and they never lost hope to return to Lithuania and help their country reemerge, "- Lithuania’s leader said.

According to the President, Lithuania is probably the only country among the former Soviet states, which opened to the public all KGB documents available in its archives and started their publication.


See the original text in Lithuanian at: http://president.lt/lt/spaudos_centras_392/pranesimai_spaudai/skaudi_tremimu_istorija_-_zmoniu_ir_valstybes_atminty.html