VILNIUS HOLDS ANTI-COMMUNISM FORUM

Published: 25 June 2000 y., Sunday
Witnesses from Lithuania, Bulgaria, Hungary and other Central European countries spoke about their personal suffering from communist repression. Lithu-anian lawyer Vytautas Zabiela said that the process would have only moral, not legal consequences. Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, attended the congress held June 12-14. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting against the communist regime when he was the leader of the Polish independent Solidarity trade unions. "More people were killed in peace time than during two world wars in this part of the world," Walesa said about communist terror. The congress participants, victims of communist repression, politicians, political scientists and lawyers from 23 countries, said that Vilnius is a symbolic place for such an anti-communist forum. Lithuania lost one-third of its population during Soviet occupation because of killings, deportations and forced emigration, said Povilas Jakucionis, chairman of the Lithuanian Political Prisoners and De-portees Union. This union and three similar Lithuanian organizations of victims of communism organized the congress.
Šaltinis: baltictimes.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

The City of lights sparkles

The Champs Elysees rings in the holiday season with a festive lighting display. more »

Royal wedding venue confirmed

Westminster Abbey is confirmed as the venue for the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011. more »

Tallest Jesus statue unveiled

15,000 pilgrams flock to see official unveiling of the world's tallest statue of Jesus in Poland. more »

Muslims buy livestock for holy day

Muslims in Bangladesh go to market to buy livestock to slaughter for the approaching holy Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. more »

Breaking down barriers for disabled people

Ten–year strategy for people with disabilities so they can take part in all aspects of daily life across the EU. more »

Africa-Europe: 80 countries, two continents in partnership for a better future

Ahead of the Africa-EU Summit taking place from 29-30 November in Libya, the Commission presents today its proposals for a consolidation of the Africa-EU relations. more »

Climate change: CO2 emissions from new cars see biggest fall in 2009

Average CO2 emissions from new cars sold in the EU dropped by 5% last year, the biggest annual fall ever recorded, a report published today by the European Commission shows. more »

Shot koala not yet out of the woods

Baby koala fights for her life in Australia after being injured by shotgun fire. more »

Safeguarding privacy in the digital age

Plans to give consumers more control over how personal information is collected and used. more »

A river once flowed: Brazil runs dry

A severe drought pushes river levels in Brazil's Amazon region to record lows, isolating communities and strangling vital boat transport links. more »