Speeches

Remarks by H.E. Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, at the Ceremony of Presentation of Medals to Signatories of the Independence Act of March 11

Distinguished Signatories of the Act of Independence of March 11,
Honorable Guests,

On this festive day we come to understand very clearly the great significance of the events in which we participated, and the immense importance of the decisions that you made twenty years ago. You were in the very heart of those events and you knew, better than anyone else, the hopes and expectations of our people and also of the threats they faced. You stayed in the forefront and never wavered in bringing the people together in Sąjūdis, leading them to elections and proclaiming on their behalf the reestablishment of Lithuanian independence.

Whatever your pathways in later years, you have woven your lives into the fabric of Lithuanian history - real and unadorned, and therefore very precious. In this moment of celebration and dedication, let us remember those signatories who are no longer with us.

Let us observe a minute of silence in their memory. Thank you.

Standing behind you on this path was the nation and its millennium old history, Lithuania's freedom and independence fights, and the suffering of our people in occupation. The Signatories of the Act of Independence of February 16, Lithuanian volunteers, partisans and resistance fighters - you held them all in your hearts and they stood with you guiding the way.

The spirit of March 11 of 1990 kept our faith strong and helped us resist later, in January, the brutal attack against independence. We stood resolute in our unity, concord and faith. In the face of such togetherness, even those who hesitated or disapproved joined the cause.

In twenty years of independent statehood, we rebuilt Lithuania and established its presence in the world.

Twenty years on, we also see the mistakes we made. Today we have to find the strength to overcome their consequences: corruption, crisis of values and lack of trust in the state. We will succeed! In these two decades we raised a new young generation that has never lived in occupation - a generation that is dynamic, well educated and creative. I strongly believe that the historical memory of Sąjūdis will help them understand even more clearly that we can build our state and our future only on the foundations of genuine respect to those who reestablished Lithuanian independence, their experience and wisdom.

As you created the Sąjūdis movement and adopted the Act of the Reestablishment of the State of Lithuania, you honestly delivered on your promises to the people. As you made the Act of Re-Independence a living reality, you fulfilled a historic mission that will forever survive in the memory of our nation.

Thank you for your priceless contribution to Lithuania and its cause. Please allow me to present you with medals dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of Reestablished Lithuanian Independence as a token of national gratitude and respect.