18.08.2009, 12:02
Baltic States Call for “Heartbeats for Baltics!” Project
OREANDA-NEWS. Presidents Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia, Valdis Zatlers of Latvia, and Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania have called on the people of the three Baltic States to take a break from their ordinary duties and concerns on August 22 and 23 to take part in the Baltic unity run which will allow Baltic heartbeats to resound in all three countries and all around the world 20 years after the legendary Baltic Way demonstration. The unity of the three nations will once again be noted on the world’s map when the residents of the Baltic States will take part in a 24-hour relay race from Vilnius and Tallinn to Riga, reported the Official website president.lv.
The start to the race will be given by Presidents Grybauskaite and Ilves in their respective capital cities, while at the conclusion of the run, President Zatlers will run the last kilometre of the run up to the Freedom Monument.
“The Baltic unity run recalls the 20th anniversary of the Baltic Way, and it allows us to take a look at what we have achieved during these years, what has changed and what has not changed. As countries and nations, we are free of the oppressors who, 70 years ago, took away our countries. We are back in Europe in spiritual and political terms. Our everyday lives and our economies have developed rapidly in spite of the recession that we are seeing now. Our love of our motherlands and our desire to work together have not changed,” says President Ilves.
He adds: “Let’s stay together in Estonia, and also with our friends in Latvia and Lithuania! I think that this run through three countries is a good idea which everyone should support. I invite everyone to participate on August 22 and 23.”
Latvian President Zatlers has this to say: “20 years ago, the people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands to dream the dream of freedom by taking part in the Baltic Way. The strength of unity among the three nations meant that the whole world heard us. The event was recalled as a unique testimony of the singing revolution of the Baltic peoples.”
President Zatlers thinks that the heartbeats of those who will take part in the run from Tallinn and Vilnius to Riga will establish a new Baltic Way and will allow everyone – old and young, big and small – to re-experience the Baltic Way one more time to confirm unity in terms of overcoming future challenges.
Lithuanian President Grybauskaite: “We need to remember with joy our unified will and peaceful strength 20 years ago, because that focused the world’s attention on the yearning of the people of the three Baltic States for freedom. Now it is once again very important to stand together and to show that we can reduce the negative consequences of the recession, undertake greater responsibilities, and be more courageous in dealing with the challenges of our age.”
August 22 and 23 will also be a living history lesson for those who were born after the Baltic Way or do not remember it because they were too young back then. More information about “Heartbeats for the Baltics!” can be found on www.baltijascelam20.lv, www.baltijoskelias20.lt, www.baltikett20.ee, or www.balticway20.com. People can also register there to take part in the run.
The strength and unity of the people of the Baltic States surprised the whole world 20 years ago. People formed a 600-kilometre and unbroken chain from Tallinn, through Riga, and on to Vilnius by joining hands. The Baltic Way was a symbolic call for rebirth and independence in the three nations, and it focused the world’s attention on the destructive history of the Baltic States. This non-violent protest denounced the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that had been signed exactly 50 years ago on August 23, 1939, and divided Eastern Europe into zones of influence between Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union.The protest put an end to that pact’s consequences.
In August 2009, the expert council of the UNESCO Memory of the World programme gave thumbs up to this phenomenal and historical event in the Baltic States by approving the inclusion of documentary evidence of the human chain in the Memory of the World register.
The start to the race will be given by Presidents Grybauskaite and Ilves in their respective capital cities, while at the conclusion of the run, President Zatlers will run the last kilometre of the run up to the Freedom Monument.
“The Baltic unity run recalls the 20th anniversary of the Baltic Way, and it allows us to take a look at what we have achieved during these years, what has changed and what has not changed. As countries and nations, we are free of the oppressors who, 70 years ago, took away our countries. We are back in Europe in spiritual and political terms. Our everyday lives and our economies have developed rapidly in spite of the recession that we are seeing now. Our love of our motherlands and our desire to work together have not changed,” says President Ilves.
He adds: “Let’s stay together in Estonia, and also with our friends in Latvia and Lithuania! I think that this run through three countries is a good idea which everyone should support. I invite everyone to participate on August 22 and 23.”
Latvian President Zatlers has this to say: “20 years ago, the people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands to dream the dream of freedom by taking part in the Baltic Way. The strength of unity among the three nations meant that the whole world heard us. The event was recalled as a unique testimony of the singing revolution of the Baltic peoples.”
President Zatlers thinks that the heartbeats of those who will take part in the run from Tallinn and Vilnius to Riga will establish a new Baltic Way and will allow everyone – old and young, big and small – to re-experience the Baltic Way one more time to confirm unity in terms of overcoming future challenges.
Lithuanian President Grybauskaite: “We need to remember with joy our unified will and peaceful strength 20 years ago, because that focused the world’s attention on the yearning of the people of the three Baltic States for freedom. Now it is once again very important to stand together and to show that we can reduce the negative consequences of the recession, undertake greater responsibilities, and be more courageous in dealing with the challenges of our age.”
August 22 and 23 will also be a living history lesson for those who were born after the Baltic Way or do not remember it because they were too young back then. More information about “Heartbeats for the Baltics!” can be found on www.baltijascelam20.lv, www.baltijoskelias20.lt, www.baltikett20.ee, or www.balticway20.com. People can also register there to take part in the run.
The strength and unity of the people of the Baltic States surprised the whole world 20 years ago. People formed a 600-kilometre and unbroken chain from Tallinn, through Riga, and on to Vilnius by joining hands. The Baltic Way was a symbolic call for rebirth and independence in the three nations, and it focused the world’s attention on the destructive history of the Baltic States. This non-violent protest denounced the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that had been signed exactly 50 years ago on August 23, 1939, and divided Eastern Europe into zones of influence between Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union.The protest put an end to that pact’s consequences.
In August 2009, the expert council of the UNESCO Memory of the World programme gave thumbs up to this phenomenal and historical event in the Baltic States by approving the inclusion of documentary evidence of the human chain in the Memory of the World register.
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