Speeches

Speech by H.E. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania, at the Celebration of Lithuanian Independence Day National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Dear Participants of Independence Day Celebrations,
Dear Fellow Citizens of Lithuania,
Distinguished Guests,

I extend my congratulations to Lithuania and its people on the occasion of this meaningful holiday. Today is a very special day when we once again take a walk through the pages of history, reliving the memorable events of February 16 and admiring the dedication of the enlightened people of those days and their faith in Lithuania. Their idealism and resolve to attain the unattainable made it possible to rebuild our state from ruins and brought the people together to revive the nation after a century of occupation. 

We have just sung the National Song by Vincas Kudirka that calls on the sons of Lithuania to draw their strength from the past. Last year, as we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of this outstanding figure of national revival movement, we remembered and talked about his life and the trials he went thtough. At the same time, we recalled his remarkable accomplishments that kindled the vision of our restored statehood.

He was a person whose prominence and standing awakened the spiritual and national self-awareness in many a signatory of the Declaration of Independence of February 16. Well aware of the Empire's strength and power, the fatigue and disappointment of the Lithuanian people in the surrounding world, and the world's mistrust of Lithuania, he turned his eyes towards the future, firmly believing in the supremacy of ideals over reality politics.

He raised question openly, he did not camouflage his doubts or uncertainties, and he criticized frankly and honestly. I would like to emphasize that he was not only engaged in critique, but also assumed his share of responsibility on the path towards understanding, solidarity and togetherness.

That is why the newspaper Varpas is still relevant and deeply intellectual even today: an ideal model of openness that heralded the publications of the Lithuanian Sąjūdis movement. It is namely such Kudirka-like criticism that I miss the most today. Criticism which, instead of generating spite, nihilism or viciousness about our state and its people, encourages us to be open-minded and seek answers. Criticism which, instead of intimidating, analyses the actual circumstances, advises how to deal with reality and transforms a problem situation into a vision of clarity and common good.         

It relates to us all: the educated and intellectuals, public officials and officers, employees, workers and students. I sincerely approve the words of a literary critic who said that "the most difficult lesson to learn from Kudirka is to stand up as a dignified nation that has overcome its serfdom complex and the dark instincts of the crowd." Have we conquered the bondman inside us? Have we overpowered our fears, mistrust and suspicions? Self-destruction and self-disdain never leads to progress nor does it serve the interests of the nation and the state.

True, not all depends only on us: there are many global problems that Lithuania cannot escape. In many a case, even Europe fails to understand the interests and concerns of our country, underestimating them and their impact. But these concerns are important to us, our present day and future.

No crisis is more dangerous than lack of national ambition which prevented Lithuania from solving many problems that could have been solved, depriving it of hundreds of thousands of people who had to emigrate. When I say ambition, I do not mean signs of xenophobia or the crowd's ignoble strife to break windows, which in my view is just as immoral as the arrogance demonstrated by functionaries and their conceited reluctance to admit mistakes.

We have enough of capability and capacity, but we lack healthy determination to create our personal welfare and the common good of the nation. For this we have to overcome preconceived fears, stand up to destruction, and translate criticism and disapproval into constructive dialogue. We cannot give in to evil - political, moral or social. We must strive to resist it by open, truthful, and responsible endeavors and attitudes.       

The profound desire not to destroy the nation and the state from the inside must emerge as our common program for future actions. We have plenty historical evidence that the absence of shared goals and objectives is detrimental and disuniting, while a unifying vision can be reached, however unrealistic and unreachable it may seem. Vincas Kudirka was also concerned about it when he asked: Can a community without rallying ideals and goals, without solidarity and courage ever become a free nation? Let's recall the question Vytautas Kavolis, literary critic and follower of Vincas Kudirka, asked: Can a mechanically clustered group of people with no understanding of decency and evil, with no common vocabulary and no self-inspiration to act in the name of public good be described as society?
     
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have celebrated the Day of the Restoration of Statehood in many different circumstances, even when our state and our nation faced vitally dangerous threats. Together with like-minded friends, we never stopped believing in historical justice and this hope of ours proved to be stronger than reality.     

Today I remember yet another declaration of independence that was made exactly sixty years ago on February 16. In 1949, the Council of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania celebrated the Day of the Restoration of Statehood in the face of deadly threats. Not a single member of the Council died a natural death: all of them were brutally persecuted and repressed by the occupiers. However, their faith kept the ideals of independent Lithuania alive in the hearts of suppressed people. Their courageous deeds eventually led to national revival and to March 11.

Now that Lithuania and the world are going through a global financial crisis never as yet witnessed by our generation, we need the strength of Vincas Kudirka more than ever. There are no time-tested measures to reverse the global economic downturn. But we know by personal experience how to survive and find solutions in difficult situations. These are not technical matters; first and foremost, they are matters of moral values and principles.

Vincas Kudirka serves as a model of decency and integrity. A medical doctor who suffered from poor health, he practiced in a far-away province of tsarist Russia and lived by the highest moral standards: to do everything to make the world a more dignified and better place. He laid down these ideals in the National Song.

Let us draw strength from those who shared their last crumb of bread in Gulag camps; let us draw strength from those who risked their lives to save the Jews; let us draw strength from those who bare handedly stopped the Soviet tanks on January 13, and also from the every day kindness of our people. Let us draw strength from our awareness that the quality of life does not depend on the quantity of money - it depends on human solidarity. Let us remember that Vincas Kurdirka taught us a lesson of serving one another. 

Today Lithuania greatly needs strength that endures and stems from truth and light. Let us search and find it in our hearts. Let us reflect on what each of us can do for the nation and the state, for our culture and integrity. For we are Lithuania and Lithuania is us.

I believe that the National Song - the Lithuanian National Anthem - by Vincas Kudirka will forever resonate for the children of Lithuania.

Thank you.