Address of the President of Latvia at the Freedom Monument on the occasion of Commemoration Day of the Victims of Communist Terror

Distinguished participants of the memorial moment! Exactly 75 years have passed since that horrible night, when more than 15 thousand Latvian residents were suddenly pulled out from their homes on the dark night and were forced to go away in an unknown direction, leaving their land and all their previous lives.

 

Deportations of 14 June 1941, as well as detentions, arrests and killings experienced in subsequent years are the events that we will never forget. They affected almost every family in Latvia.

 

We honour the dead persons in exile with commemorative events today and remind to the entire world and ourselves once again about those events. Today, we express our deepest gratitude to everyone who was able to survive in those inhuman conditions. Faith in Latvia, our flag, and our anthem were road bread of the deported persons. It allowed many come back home. It provided true hope that Latvia will be free again and justice will win.

 

Thanks to you, we demonstrated strength of our nation, ability to heal the wounds chopped in the tree of our national life, and we regained independence of our country under totalitarian conditions.

 

Today we live in completely different circumstances than 75 years ago. We have done a lot and achieved a lot so that the events of June 14 would never happen again. They will never happen again! We have strengthened their armed forces; we have obtained friends and allies, on whom we can rely in times of peace and times of danger. By joining NATO and the European Union, we have strengthened our belonging to Europe and we have become a model for many others.

 

However, the current security situation in the world is an exquisite reminder that nothing is guaranteed and self-evident. We must always be vigilant and ready to protect our country. We must be ready to defend European values like freedom, human rights, dignity, and tolerance, because Latvia is based on those values.

 

It is everyone’s responsibility and duty towards the compatriots, who had undergone deportations, to build ever better Latvia so that their hopes and dreams would come true. Remembering the developments and sufferings of the 20th century, everyone of us will do his or her best to work for further growth of Latvia. Only we can solve our difficulties no our own, as nobody else will do it instead of us. We are creating Latvia. Only we can protect ourselves so that others would come to help if necessary.

 

Let us work together regardless of nationality, age, or social status. Now it is as important as ever to be united while creating Latvia into a country we can be truly proud of.