Speaker. today we are honoring the 69th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of Lithuania. As we all know. that countrys attempts at creating a free and just society were brought to a sudden end just 22 years later by the naked aggression and illegal invasion by the Soviet Union in June 1940. Mass arrests and deportations to Siberia took place. Involving a reported 350.000 citizens. or about onetenth of the population. Repression and human rights violations continue to this day. but despite these actions and longterm attempts at a policy of russification. the proud people of Lithuania have resisted and are determined to maintain their cultural and religious traditions.
Keywords matched
deportations