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March 11th marks the 22nd anniversary of the historic signing
of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
There are many brave men and
women to thank

Signatories celebrating in the Seimas (Parliament) the night of March 11, 1990

The signing of this Act put an end to fifty years of brutal repression and occupation by Soviet Russia.

There are many brave men and women to thank for their valiant work that ultimately made this possible.

While the members of Sąjūdis, the Lithuanian Liberty League and the signatories of the Act are often the ones we think of first we also know that it was the people of Lithuania and many Lithuanians around the world whose work and support also made this historic event happen.

We would like to share with you some of the key events leading up to and following Lithuania and Lithuanians declaring themselves once again a free and independent country and people but before we get into all the details we would just like to say something to all who made this possible March 11, 1990 

AČIŪ JUMS

Su pagarbe Vincas Karnila, Associate editor
vin.karnila@VilNews.com

March 11, 1990
Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania

The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of March 11 (Aktas dėl Lietuvos nepriklausomos valstybės atstatymo) was an independence declaration by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted on March 11, 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR. The act emphasized restoration and legal continuity of interwar period Lithuania, which lost its independence in June 1940 as a result of Soviet Russia’s invasion and resulting annexation and occupation. It was the first time that a Soviet Socialist Republic declared independence from the Soviet Union.

LOSS of INDEPENDENCE

After the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century, Lithuania was under the control of the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Council of Lithuania, chaired by Jonas Basanavičius, proclaimed the Act of Independence of Lithuania on February 16, 1918. Lithuania enjoyed independence for two decades. In August 1939, Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. The Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, were assigned to Russia and subsequently were occupied in June 1940 and converted into soviet socialist republics. The Soviet authorities undertook Sovietization policies such as the nationalization of all private property, collectivization of agriculture, suppression of the Catholic Church, and imposition of totalitarian control. By 1953 the armed anti-Soviet partisans had been reduced to the point that they could no longer operate as an effective organized force and approximately 130,000 Lithuanians, dubbed "enemies of the people", had been forcibly deported into Siberia. After the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, the Soviet Union adopted de-Stalinization policies and ended mass persecutions. Nonviolent resistance continued both in Lithuania and among Lithuanian Diaspora. These movements were conducted in secret as they were deemed illegal and focused more on social issues such as human rights and cultural affairs rather than political demands.

INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS

As Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to revive economy of the Soviet Union, he introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). These reforms encouraged changes within the Soviet government and invited the public into discussions. For the activists, it was an opportunity to bring their movements from underground into the public life.

Map of the Eastern Bloc

As Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to revive economy of the Soviet Union, he introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). These reforms encouraged changes within the Soviet government and invited the public into discussions. For the activists, it was an opportunity to bring their movements from underground into the public life. On August 23, 1987, the 48th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Lithuanian Liberty League organized the first public protest rally that did not result in arrests. In mid-1988, a group of 35 intellectuals organized the Sajūdis Reform Movement with the officially stated goal of supporting, discussing, and implementing Gorbachev's reforms. Sąjūdis grew in popularity, attracting large crowds to rallies in Vingis Park in Vilnius and radicalizing its agenda.

  
The Baltic Way August 23, 1989

Sąjūdis grew into a universal movement, with the citizens of Lithuania demanding that first economic and then political relations should be changed. The Constituent Assembly of Sąjūdis was held on October 22-23, 1988. The prospective objective - the independence of the Lithuanian economy and finally its political independence, so that Lithuania should not be bound to other countries by any obligations restricting its sovereignty, was discussed in the lobby and even in official speeches of the participants of the Assembly. The Sąjūdis Seimas was elected, and the historic name of the Lithuanian state power was brought back in this way. The Sąjūdis Council was formed, and on November 24, 1988, Vytautas Landsbergis, a musicologist, a specialist on creative work of M.K. Čiurlionis and a member of the initiative group of Sąjūdis was elected the Chairman of the Council.

                                 Sąjūdis logo                                          Lithuanian Communist Party (LCP)

The movement continuously pushed further with its demands. These demands included limited discussions on Gorbachev's reforms, greater say in economic decisions and political autonomy within the Soviet Union. By the time of the Baltic Way on August 23, 1989, which was a human chain made up of more than two million people spanning over 600 kilometers (370 mi) across the three Baltic states to mark the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, full independence was the official goal.

DEMOCRATIC ELECTION

As the elections to the Supreme Council of February 1990 approached, two political forces took shape in Lithuania, Sąjūdis uniting the consistent supporter of independence and the independent Lithuanian Communist Party (LCP) that in 1989, during the mass protests of the Singing Revolution against Soviet Union in Lithuania, had declared itself independent from Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The essence of the Sąjūdis program was based on the historical link of the re-established Lithuanian State with the former Republic of Lithuania, which existed from 1918 to 1940. The Supreme Council, elected in universal, free and democratic elections, was to formalise this continuity in appropriate legal, political and historical acts. The LCP proclaimed a popular but abstract electoral slogan: "A Lithuania without sovereignty is a Lithuania without a future!"

Sąjūdis rally in Vingas Park, Vilnius 23 August 1988

The Parliamentary elections of February 1990 were the first free and democratic elections in Lithuania since World War II. The people overwhelmingly voted for the candidates endorsed by Sąjūdis, even though the movement did not run as a political party. Sąjūdis candidates received 96 out of 141 deputy mandates.

Vytautas Landsbergis

The result was the first post-war non-communist government. Among the first laws enacted by the Supreme Council was the Law on the Name and National Emblem which officially promulgated the country's name as the Republic of Lithuania and reintroduced the historic emblem depicting the mounted knight Vytis. At 10.44 p.m., March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania adopted an Act embodying the expectations and hopes of the nation “On the Re-establishment of the Independence of the Republic of Lithuania” which solemnly proclaimed the end of the period of occupation by a foreign government and the beginning of a new era of statehood.

124 delegates voted in favor of the Act, 6 abstained and no votes were cast against the Act. The Act confirmed the continuous and unbroken link of the re-established Lithuanian State with the Act of Independence of February 16, 1918, and the Resolution of a democratic Lithuanian Government, passed by Constituent Assembly (Seimas) on May 15, 1920.

Vytis

With this Act the Council committed itself to carry out the functions of the highest authority, the Lithuanian Parliament, which expressed the will of the absolute majority of population. The Supreme Council terminated the validity of the Constitution of the USSR of October 7, 1977, and the Constitution of the Lithuanian SSR of April 20, 1978, declaring the nominal validity of the Constitution of May 12, 1938, within the territory of Lithuania. The Supreme Council announced that the Constitution of 1938 was in force. This fact signified the continuity of the rights of sovereignty of the Lithuanian State. However, to really regulate the life of the state the principal Provisional Law was passed shortly and the validity of the said Constitution was terminated.

The ACT

Watch the historic event of the night of  11 March 1990
1990 Kovo 11
http://youtu.be/D3kJY892Yi0 

SIGNATARAI
(THE SIGNATORIES) 

AFTERMATH

The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania served as a model and inspiration to other Soviet republics however the issue of independence was not immediately settled. While recognition by other countries was still not certain, the immediate response from the U.S.A. was very clear

The leadership of the USSR reacted to the re-establishment of the Lithuanian State with extreme antagonism. Mikhail Gorbachev called the Act of Independence illegal. The Congress of People's Deputies declared the Act of the re-establishment of the Lithuanian State "null and void", and President Gorbachev issued an ultimatum demanding that the sovereignty of the USSR be re-established on the territory of Lithuania and that the country abide by the provisions of the Soviet constitution. When Lithuania rejected the ungrounded and illegal demands of the foreign government, the USSR resorted to a policy of threats, blackmail and intimidation. Soviet military control over Lithuanian state borders was strengthen, foreign citizens' access to the country was limited, and the Soviet military units stationed in Lithuania behaved as they pleased.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Beginning with March 13, 1990, after the March 11th Act on the Re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian State was promulgated, the USSR started applying political and social sanctions against Lithuania. From April until June 1990, it imposed an economic blockade. Later, in order to break the will of the Lithuanian people, the government of the USSR began open military aggression. Unarmed Lithuanian citizens, encircling the strategically important objects including the Parliament buildings, guarded them day and night expecting to avoid aggression. In front of the Parliament buildings barricades were set up bearing different slogans and graffiti reflecting the chief aim of the defenders - To defend the re-established statehood of Lithuania. On January 13, 1991, using brutal force against the unarmed population, Soviet troops stormed the state television and radio buildings in Vilnius, 14 people were killed and about 600 civilians were injured. A wave of indignation rolling throughout the world and the determination of the Lithuanians to defend the Parliament of Lithuania stopped the atrocities of the aggressors.

During the days of barricades the Parliament was called "the heart of Lithuania", from 1990 till 1992, it was the political centre of the Lithuanian State. New legislation, which should decide economic and cultural growth of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as Lithuania's international recognition in the international community of states was related to the work of the Parliament. In other words, the objectives of the Supreme Council were similar to those of the Constituent Assembly (Seimas) of 1920. For this reason the Supreme Council later was given the name of the Reconstituent Seimas.

On account of those aggressive actions, on March 24 the Supreme Council (Reconstituent Seimas) adopted the decision to transfer its powers, in case its rights were restricted, to Stasys Lozoraitis the Independent Envoy of the Republic of Lithuania in Washington and at the Holy See. The United States of America were among the few countries which did not only refuse to recognise the occupation of the Republic of Lithuania and its annexation in 1940 but also allowed the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to function. On March 22, 1990, the Supreme Council (Reconstituent Seimas) passed the Law on the Government and the first Government of the re-established Lithuanian State was formed (the 22nd Cabinet of Ministers in the history of the Republic of Lithuania). On 24 March 1990, Kazimira Danutė Prunskiene was appointed Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania and during her visits abroad was received by US President G. Bush, Prime Minister of Great Britain M. Thatcher, President of France F. Mitterand, Chancellor of Germany H. Kohl.

Stasys Lozoraitis

Provocative actions of the Soviets lasted in fact until August 21, 1991, when the communist putsch in Moscow failed. After the failure of the putsch, Lithuania became fully independent of the USSR. The Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova was the first from the USSR to recognise the independent Republic of Lithuanian on May 30, 1990 and this was the sign to the authorities in Moscow that the Soviet Empire was breaking up. On February 11, 1991, the Independent Republic of Lithuania was recognised by Iceland. Then recognition of Lithuania’s independence was quickly followed by several countries including Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Canada, Poland, Malta, San Marino, Portugal, Romania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia. On September 17, 1991, Lithuania joined the United Nations along with Estonia and Latvia. Lithuania also became a full member of a number of other international organisations. At the 86th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held on October 7, Lithuania became an IPU member. On January 24-26, 1992, the Secretariat of a new parliamentary organisation - the Baltic Assembly - was established. On 6 September 1992, the USSR recognised the Independence of Lithuania and on 8 September 1992, a treaty was signed with Russia in Moscow in which it was agreed that Russian troops would be pulled out from the territory of Lithuania by August 31, 1993.

We would like to thank the Honorable Vytautas Landsbergis. Much of the information came from his writings.

Last year Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė hosted several important meetings with ‘women issues’ on the agenda.

Leading women of the world met in the Presidential Palace on 30 June for the Conference Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices organized on the initiative of the Lithuanian President and President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen. 

On 1 July, President Grybauskaitė had meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva, Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallstrom.

Among the participants of the women's high-level conferences hosted in Lithuania for the first time ever was the President of Finland Tarja Halonen, President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva, President of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga, President of Mongolia Elbegdorj Tsakhia, Speaker of Albania's Parliament Jozefina Çoba Topalli, Speaker of Latvia's Parliament Solvita Āboltiņa, Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also EU, UN and OSCE representatives, members of foreign national parliaments and governments, human and women's rights activists, and NGOs. 

"I am very happy to welcome in Lithuania so many prominent women whose experience and achievements are an inspiring example to all women of the world. Vilnius will become a global focus centre, a venue for discussions on the most sensitive issues of democracy and equal opportunities, the results of which will provide guidance on how women's rights could be enforced and protected in the world," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

Women world leaders discussed ways to enhance women participation in political, economic and public life and to ensure equal opportunities of self-expression and career as well as measures to combat violence and trafficking in human beings. 

In a meeting with Margot Wallstrom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the President stated that Lithuania has been efficiently implementing, for several years, the National Strategy for Combating Violence against Women aimed at prevention of violence, assistance to victims and work with perpetrators. Much importance is attached to activities of women NGOs which provide assistance to women victims of violence.

Margot Wallstrom passed a message from the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in which he underlined that the Conference initiated by the President is a significant contribution to the United Nations efforts to combat violence, trafficking in human beings and sexual violence in conflict. According to the Secretary-General, the United Nations stands ready to assist in delivering on the goals set by the Conference in Vilnius.

In the meeting, the UN Representative and the President discussed violence prevention programmes carried out in Lithuania. President Grybauskaitė mentioned the recent adoption of the law on protection against domestic violence as a significant step towards society without violence.

The Klaipeda Municipality tem planning the new crisis centre for women:
        ·         Ms. Audronė Liesytė, Head of Social Care Division
        ·         Ms. Elona Jurkevičienė, Head of Project Division
        ·         Ms. Aušra Tautkevičiūtė, Chief Specialist of Construction and Infrastructure Development Division
        ·         Mr. Tomas Barsevičius, Chief Specialist of Project Management Subdivision, Project Division

One of the biggest problems that Lithuania faces today is violence against women. Statistics claims that 63% of all women in Lithuania suffered from physical and/or psychological violence, whereas world average is 33%.

Klaipėda becomes a pioneer in this social blind spot
In an interview with Klaipeda’s Mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas last year, I asked him if he thought Klaipeda could be a good example for other Lithuanian municipalities with regards to this very severe problem.

The mayor answered:
“Thanks to funds from Espersen Foundation, Klaipėda becomes a pioneer in this social blind spot. What we will see with rise of this building, however, is not a problem solution, only a shelter for severe societal problems. Although the shelter is extremely needed, Klaipėda will never be an example if violence will persist. Therefore I see immediate need for social evolution towards extermination of violence against women in general. For that we need awareness campaigns and education from early school age. Only with such package of measures I will be able to call Klaipėda as good example for other municipalities.”

Lithuania's port city has for years had a women's shelter for women, but has now taken a huge step forward and is already well underway with the planning of what is probably going to be Lithuania's most modern and advanced crisis centre for women. The new centre is expected ready summer 2012.

The municipality has been joined by EU and a Danish fund, the Espersen Foundation, to finance the project, and everything is now arranged for Klaipeda to have a women's shelter most other Lithuanian municipalities should study further as soon as possible. For the problem of violence against women is an extremely serious, nationwide problem that needs immediate attention from authorities, communities and the very families throughout every corner of the country!

Let me also say that I consider it admirable that the Espersen Foundation so actively contributes financially and otherwise in a community where the foundation's commercial arm, the Espersen Fish Factory, during the last few years has built up a state of the art fish processing company that provides jobs to a large number of production workers and several external companies within fishery, transportation and more. Klaipeda has for years benefited from this company's investments, and the company is now in an exemplary way also showing how commercial businesses can demonstrate social responsibility and involvement in the communities in which they are established and located.

FAÇADE OF THE PLANNED CRISIS CENTRE BUILDING
Architects: NEOFORMA, Klaipeda.

Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com