On Thursday, September 8, the Department of State hosted a gathering of Baltic Americans and representatives of those countries to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of full diplomatic relations between the United States and Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The theme of the reception was “Together Again.” Photos portraying events during, before and after the struggle for independence lined the Exhibition Hall and were on display there for a week.
Speakers included Philip H. Gordon, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Former President of the Republic of Latvia; Viktoras Nakas, former political/press officer, Embassy of Lithuania; and Marju Rink-Abel, president, Estonian American National Council. Music was provided by the Joint Baltic Choir, conducted by Mati Tammaru.
All the speakers spoke of the good relations between the United States and the Baltic countries, and the importance of the long-standing non-recognition policy regarding the illegal occupation of the Baltic States. Marju Rink-Abel’s remarks were as follows:
Madam President, Distin-guised Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am deeply honored and pleased to be here today on this occasion marking events that happened 20 years ago. These were long wished-for and hoped-for, and yet still unexpected when the moment came: the re-establishment of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, followed shortly by the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Baltic states.
Much has been written about the way re-independence came – the Singing Revolution, the Baltic chain, the gritty determination of the Baltic peoples to seize the opportunity presented to them by events in Moscow. This seemed like a fairy tale come true.
Yet, it is the fruition of decades of work in keeping alive the spirit, the drive, the knowledge, and the affirmation of the right to self-determination and independence of these occupied countries. There, behind the Iron Curtain, this work was done mostly quietly, underground, behind closed doors, until, finally, events allowed it go public. But in the West, and in the United States in particular, this work was always done in the open, in public places, in the media, in the corridors of Congress, in the White House, in the Department of State, and wherever else it was possible to do so.
A good deal of this work was done by those who fled the Soviet occupation of the Baltics, and came to the United States in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. They immediately made one of their primary goals the regaining of independence for their homelands. They established organizations specifically for this purpose, and continued this voluntary work for over 40 years, helping achieve the goal of independence in August 1991, and then continuing to work to get Soviet troops removed, and finally, the Baltic countries’ acceptance into NATO.
Some of these activists are no longer with us, but their vision and determination made possible the achievements we are celebrating today. Each ethnic group formed its own central organization, which coordinated its campaign for independence. These central organizations – the Estonian American Natio-nal Council, the American Latvian Association, and the Lithuanian American Council – cooperated jointly in setting up and running JBANC – the Joint Baltic American National Committee – which played an important role in the fight to keep the goal of Baltic freedom alive in the United States – and still plays an important role today in helping to ensure U.S. support for the continued strengthening of democracy in the region.
The United States’ policy of non-recognition of the incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union, together with the continued recognition of the Baltic diplomatic missions for over half a century, gave credibility and better credentials to the efforts of the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian activists. The policy of non-recognition contributed to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states – and helped ensure that it was on the basis of legal continuity – an important distinction possible only because of this stated policy – that the occupation of those countries was illegal.
So today, we should not only celebrate, but also take a moment to remember and thank all of those Americans who helped along the way. These include not only Baltic-Americans, but also all who believe in the cause of freedom and helped throughout the years – U.S. presidents, diplomats, congressmen, civil servants, businessmen, journalists, academicians, and so on – the list is long. The future holds no guarantees, but, with continuing excellent U.S.-Baltic relations and the strong support of the United States, the security of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania appears to have never been stronger. And that is indeed worth celebrating!
Marju Rink-Abel
