VILNIUS - The Lithuanian Embassy transferred $1,000 to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington after inking a cooperation agreement with foundation chairman Lee Edwards, Lithuania's Ambassador to the United States Vygaudas Usackas said during his visit to Chicago on May 21.
"Today, more than ever, we understand and value the initiative to memorialize victims of the communist regime by building a monument to them next to the U.S. Congress in Washington. I invite everyone who is not indifferent to the victims of Communism to contribute to the construction of the memorial," Usackas said during his speech.
The Foreign Ministry's press department reported that, according to an estimate by the foundation, the memorial's construction would cost about $590,000. As of today, the project's construction budget is still short $135,000.
The idea for the monument originally belongs to the Joint Baltic American National Committee, which unites U.S.-based emigrants from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. As far back as 1993 committee members proposed to erect a monument in the U.S. capital that would remind the world of the crimes and atrocities committed under communism.
Although sponsored contributions were enough to turn the idea into reality, the committee was unable to obtain a site for construction of the memorial.
The problem wasn't solved until last year, when authorities allocated a plot of land between Capitol Hill and the Washington Central Railway Station.
During his visit to Chicago on May 21, Ambassador Usackas attended the festivities in honor of Lithuania, focusing on the Baltic state's 15-year commemoration of independence and its first anniversary in the EU and NATO.
During the celebration, Usackas underlined that "the crimes of communism, just like the genocide of Lithuanian people, mark one of the darkest pages in 20th century history."
The ambassador applauded the U.S. Senate's resolution, passed on May 19 (see story Page 1), urging Russia to admit and condemn the occupation of the Baltic countries.
Usackas said that condemning the occupation would strengthen the relationship between Russia and the Baltic countries through a policy based on trust and goodwill. This would also reinforce stability in what is currently a shaky situation in the region.
The ambassador emphasized that a similar resolution, urging Russia to admit and condemn the occupation of the Baltic countries, had been registered at the U.S. House of Representatives, and expressed hope that the resolution would be adopted by the end of this summer.
