Esteemed Speaker of the Saeima!
Honourable Prime Minister!
Distinguished Mr Veismanis!
Ministers, members of Parliament, representatives of the diplomatic corps and, above all, survivors of repression!
Honoured guests!
Today, here in Riga, at the Museum of the Occupation and beside the memorial “History Tactile”, we mark a tragic anniversary – 85 years since the repressions carried out by the communist regime. We do so here in Riga, and in many places across Latvia.
Across our country, people were deported from their homes: young children, men and women, and the elderly alike. Their only crime was that they were patriots of Latvia. Through these actions, Stalin’s regime sought to destroy the very best of our nation – entrepreneurs, intelligentsia, and those who worked diligently to build and strengthen an independent Latvia. Latvia that was occupied. Latvia whose freedom Stalin sought to extinguish forever. And this could only be achieved by destroying the nation and its finest representatives.
We do not know what our country might have become had these repressions never taken place. But we do know one thing – without the occupation, our country would have been stronger and more prosperous. It is now our responsibility to build a strong, prosperous, and resilient Latvia, resilient against any threat.
And today, as we mark 85 years since the repressions, we see that the international situation is very complex, with dark clouds gathering at our borders. Therefore, it is especially important to remember these events now. For it is not only totalitarian regimes that kill – silence kills as well. Silence destroys memory. And without memory, there can be no understanding of what must be protected, of what has been endured, and of what must never be allowed to happen again.
Earlier today at Riga Castle, I met with the children of Siberia – now elderly men and women, but at the time of repressions merely young children, or those who were born in exile in Siberia. Their recollections are harrowing. Their stories are ones to which we must listen, because without them we cannot properly assess the threats that continue to emerge from the East.
Whatever differences may exist among us in our daily lives, whatever our political or ideological convictions, and whatever opinions we may occasionally hold of one another, this is the moment when remembrance must unite us around a common goal, the one red line that cannot be crossed. That is the freedom and independence of our state. Everything else is secondary. Everything else can be resolved. But only we ourselves, together with our allies, can safeguard the security, independence, and freedom of our country.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Association of the politically repressed for all that you do each day. I wish to thank all the survivors of repression present here. You continue to remind us of the tragic chapters of our nation’s history, and show that you are neither broken nor defeated. You are the people who strengthen our nation’s determination to withstand any, even unexpected, challenge.
Today, and every day, let us stand for our country’s freedom and independence, for our people’s strength and will!
God bless Latvia!
