I rise today to remind my colleagues that 49 years ago today. the Soviet Union illegally incorporated Lithuania into the Soviet Union. This annexation occurred less than 2 months after the brutal Soviet invasion of the three Baltic republics. That invasion. which resulted in wartime deportations of more than 32.000 Lithuanians. 33.000 Estonians and 10.000 Latvians to the Siberian gulag. wiped out the Baltic regions dreams and hopes. The Lithuanian people never gave up the struggle for freedom. and that persistence of spirit is beginning to pay off in the powerful reform movement in Vilnius and elsewhere in Lithuania. We ought to do everything we can to promote that movement. and bring about a free and independent Lithuania. Mr. President. the illegal incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union ought not go unmarked. The best way to commemorate those brave Lithuanian patriots who were killed and deported almost half a century ago is to work for a reborn democracy in Lithuania.
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deported deportations