Lithuanian parlt speaker pays homage to victims of Communist, Nazi regimes

VILNIUS – Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, currently on a visit to the United States, has paid homage to the victims of Communist and Nazi regimes.

During a discussion that took place at the Victims of Communism Museum in Washington on Monday, she stated that this place was not just a memorial to victims of a traumatizing regime and evidence of crimes against millions of people but also “a reminder that Communism, unfortunately, still exists and its ideology is resurrecting in a new form”.

“While weaning off dependence on Russian gas, oil and electricity, we should also distance ourselves from Russia’s narrative of the European 20th century history, including the causes and consequences of WWII. This narrative, which is full of unfounded accusations, a cynical and arrogant approach, is used by the Kremlin in its attempts to justify its aggression against neighboring countries,” the parliamentary speaker’s press service quoted her as saying.

“It is therefore important to make the assessment of crimes committed by the totalitarian Communist regime an integral part of political agenda of the Western world as its fight against disinformation and a hybrid war,” Cmilyte-Nielsen said.

While visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, the Lithuanian parliamentary speaker lit a memorial candle to pay homage, inter alia, “to the tragic fate of Lithuanian Jews, which we remember each year on September 23”, the National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews.

“Holocaust is not just Paneriai, the 9th Fort of the Kaunas Fortress or another site of mass massacre of Jews. Holocaust is a painful loss of Jews who lived in Lithuania, Lithuanian citizens who not just cherished their traditions and culture but also contributed to the creation of our state,” Cmilyte-Nielsen said.

On Monday, she also met with Luke Coffey, senior fellow at Hudson Institute, and took part in a discussion about Europe in the face of the war and about Lithuania’s prospects.

On Tuesday, the Lithuanian Seimas speaker is scheduled to meet with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Later she will meet with Dick Durbin and other US senators.