News

Dear Fellow People of Lithuania,
Distinguished Guests,

Today we celebrate a solemn and meaningful anniversary of our state. I would like to thank the Presidents of Latvia and Estonia – our sister nations of similar historical fate – Mr. Valdis Zatlers and Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, and also Mr. Lech Kaczyński, the President of Poland – our close neighbor and strategic partner – for coming to celebrate with us today. I am very pleased to welcome you among us. With friends at our side, we feel stronger than ever before.

Ninety years ago, Lithuania crossed a major threshold on the path of history. On February 16, 1918, the descendants of a partitioned nation gathered in the Council of Lithuania and proclaimed to the world that the Lithuanian people, having survived long years of oppression and occupation, were committing themselves to their inherent right to rebuild the State of Lithuania. Even today, the Declaration of February 16 – born of our native language, history, remembrance and cultural heritage – remains a unique historical event inspiring our hearts to build up Lithuania.

The Europe of those times, ravaged by wars, threats and mistrust, did not act warmly and enthusiastically towards small nations, particularly the newly emerged states. Then again, many had doubts about the Declaration: Will it not be looked upon in Lithuania as an expression of the political of only a few intellectuals? Will Lithuanians stand together in statehood after 120 years of subjugation and national humiliation under Tsarist Russia?

Such doubts were quickly dispelled by the Nation who immediately stepped forward and found faith in the historic vision delivered by the signatories. With their immediate roots in rural Lithuania and a strong wish to pursue a modern urban lifestyle, people across Lithuania readily accepted the Declaration of Independence, defended it in blood and converted it into actuality.

A strong message of political will was sent to the world testifying that the Lithuanian nation had never forsaken its historical memory and traditions of statehood. But most importantly, it spoke of the spirit of freedom which was preserved, nurtured and handed down from one generation to another in small and impoverished villages where smuggled-in Lithuanian books were eagerly read by the flickering light of oil lamps. The signatories of the Declaration of Independence knew that. They knew that there was a strong spiritual bond between the word of freedom and the feeling of liberty harbored in the souls of the Nation.

When I speak about February 16, I feel its direct impact on the national revival movement that emerged twenty years ago leading us to March 11. In both cases, the ideals of freedom and liberty preserved by the Nation made the restoration of independence and statehood possible.

When speaking about the two historic events, we have to reject the myth that Lithuania was liberated by some external force or that its freedom was facilitated by favorable circumstances. All the decisive steps were made by Lithuania and by Lithuanians without ever looking back or slowing down. We never doubted the just cause of our actions nor felt uncertain about our ideals, eventually translated into reality.

The memorable events, which happened ninety years ago and which we celebrate today, remind us yet of another historical lesson. Then, like always in historically crucial moments, the Nation and the State stood together in their faith and support of each other. And for this reason thousands of people would rise to protect the symbols of independent Lithuania and to defend independence.

This was demonstrated at the beginning of the 20 century by Lithuanian volunteers. After World War II, Lithuanian partisans testified through their tragic fate that the Stalinist Soviet Union did not destroy the dignity and idealism of Lithuania. At the close of the century, thousand-strong crowds of freedom seekers answered the call of the Sąjūdis movement to stand up for freedom. 

Today’s celebrations bring back in our memory the meaningful and touching slogan raised by the Sąjūdis movement: For Your Freedom and Ours! This motto emerged from the uprisings of the 19 century and their passionate appeal to Lithuanians, Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians – all the national fringes of the Tsarist Russian empire – to rise against oppression. Lithuanians were not alone in their fight because they fought not only for themselves and their freedom, but also for the freedom of others.

When this slogan reverberated through the Sąjūdis meetings and demonstrations, it sent a clear and meaningful signal to the people of Lithuania and to all freedom loving nations. The national revival movement had as its ultimate goal not only Lithuanian independence, but also the inalienable right of every human person to live in dignity and justice in their own homeland. 

Lithuania learned from its difficult lessons of history to resist, quite successfully, denationalization, russification and the denial of national identity and cultural awareness.

It was more difficult to resist Sovietization. It left our society deformed for a long time, distorting the understanding of many values and ideals. Lithuanian politicians, however, have always derived their creative power from national culture and its traditions.

The ninetieth anniversary celebrations of February 16 lead us to thoughts about March 11 of 1990. Next month, we will mark the eighteenth anniversary of the reestablishment of Lithuanian statehood. For the first time in parliamentary elections this coming autumn, ballots will be cast by citizens born in independent Lithuania.

With new generations arriving on the scene of public life, we are becoming increasingly more independent from the inertia shaped by our past, we are no longer afraid of changes and we stand up to challenges. True, freedom demands vigilance and responsibility and it often leads to difficult paths. However, Lithuania has always had the courage and wisdom to rediscover its spiritual, national and civil strength through disappointments and frustrations.  

The Lithuania of today has left the Lithuania of the past far behind on the road of political democracy and integration with the western world. However, even today we can learn idealism, faith in our nation and its future, and most importantly civil sacrifice from pre-war Lithuania.

This anniversary makes us think about the values pursued by the present generation of politicians. Did we forget that the driving force behind our awareness of national identity and statehood is nurtured in the hearts and minds of the people and surely not in the corridors of power? By devaluating and ignoring ordinary people and their problems, the government is undermining the foundations of trust in the State.

I have therefore always called on our politicians not to lose courage and to pursue reforms which, although unpopular, are vital for the State and the people. Ninety years ago, the signatories of the Declaration of Independence did not promise hills of gold; they devoted themselves to hard work, demonstrating an example of creative and fearless Lithuania.   

Today we are walking down a path where we feel more secure from external threats than ever before in the course of our history. It is globalization and the rapidly changing world that create crucial challenges. The Lithuania of the 20 century discovered, created and established itself in a different international environment, affecting us all directly through its tragedies and intrigues.

Each year of restored independence strengthens Lithuania. This week, we have signed a historic agreement with our partners in Poland, further enhancing our national independence. I believe that this agreement will be important not only to Lithuania and Poland, but also to Estonia, Latvia and to the whole of Europe.

Today we must participate more actively in the common European Union policy and together seek answers to the great questions of our times. However, even today, Lithuania cannot give in to compromises which ignore the interests of the Nation and the State. Our historical memory constantly reminds us to be vigilant.   

Lithuania must prepare to live in the world of the future where we will establish ourselves through innovation, creation and higher ideals. The vision of Lithuania should not be associated with our presence in the battlefields of either the East or the West, but rather with the building of a state in which we can learn and develop.

Let us be worthy of our long and great history and let us purify our aspirations from anger, hatred and short-lived interests. Let us be worthy of our state and nation: let us be the architects of a new Lithuania. In this spirit and with this wish I congratulate you all on the occasion of the Ninetieth Anniversary of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania.

H.E. Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania