Valdas Adamkus: The Soviet occupation is not only a financial issue

  • 2006-03-22
  • By TBT staff
VILNIUS - Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus says that compensation for the damage caused by the Soviet occupation is not only a financial issue but also a matter of moral recognition.
In his opening speech at the second European Union-Russia forum in Vilnius on March 23, Adamkus noted that Lithuania could not understand the relation of today's Russia with the Stalinist past.
"We can't understand reasons behind the Russian government's refusal to honor the memory of Soviet regime victims. It was only recently that we heard the Russian president censuring the atrocities of the Soviet regime. Why isn't this possible with regard to the Katyn massacre and the harm done to the Baltic states? Compensation for the occupation damage is not just a financial issue but also a matter of moral recognition," president said.
According to president's press service Adamkus repeatedly stated his opinion regarding the 1939-1940 events with painful aftereffects to Lithuania and many other states during his conversations with foreign politicians, the academic community and journalists, the president's press service reported.
The Lithuanian leader expressed hope that the call for censuring of the Soviet Union's actions in Lithuania would be finally heard.