Lithuania celebrates 20 years of independence

Vilnius - Leaders from neighboring countries and beyond arrived in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius Thursday to help Lithuanians celebrate 20 years since the Baltic state became the first Soviet republic to break free of the Soviet Union. Presidents Valdis Zatlers of Latvia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia, Lech Kaczynski of Poland, Tarja Halonen of Finland and Danilo Turk of Slovenia were all due to address a special sitting of the Lithuanian parliament, or Seimas, where the declaration of independence was made on March 11, 1990.

Other invitees, including Belarus' President Aleksandr Lukashchenko and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, had turned down invitations to attend, while many other European states sent junior representatives.

Vilnius is staging a series of parades and performances throughout the day to mark the occasion.

In a letter to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Lithuania had injected "new dynamism" into the bloc when it joined in 2004.

"You showed your strong determination on your road to freedom, independence and respect for democratic values. This has inspired the entire world," Barroso said.

On Wednesday US President Barack Obama said the events of March 11 1990 were vital in restoring democratic values to Central and Eastern Europe.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313534,lithuania-celebrates-20-years-of-independence.html.