VILNIUS - Construction of the Washington, D.C., monument to victims of communism will begin next spring. The monument committee overcame its last hurdle last week when the Washington zoning commission approved the project unanimously.
The monument will be erected near the Capitol, at the intersection of Massachusetts and New Jersey streets, the American Lithuanian Council reported.
Some 20,000 vehicles are estimated to pass said intersection daily.
At the site designated for the monument, a Statue of Democracy will stand on a pedestal of granite.
In the words of Dr. Lee Edwards, chairman of the monument foundation, the bronze statue will be "international" in its appearance, looking close to the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The monument will be there to remind passers-by of some 100 million victims of communist oppression.
Construction of the memorial, which will cost some $590,000, is being supported by the Joint Baltic American National Committee, which unites Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian immigrants living in the U.S.A.
