Vytautas Landsbergis

The Baltic-Atlantic Bridge: Pillars and Challenges

Vytautas Landsbergis is the Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. This address was delivered during the Atlantic Council of the United States in Washington, D.C. on March 8, 2000.

Ten years ago, this week, my country Lithuania voted peacefully to restore democracy and independence, to break away from the Soviet occupation and Communist dictatorship. Like the fall of the Berlin Wall half a year earlier, we became an example for peoples still captive in the long lasting prison of either Soviet or Russian imperialism. Many others also succeeded in their search for freedom; yet many are still struggling to break the yoke of the past.

The anniversary of our peaceful independence provides us an occasion to reflect on our common history and to look at the challenges that lie before us. We must find a way to build on successes of the democratic resistance and the legacy of our freedom fighters; to remember the lessons of the past; and to take great care to avoid the dangers of forgetfulness and wishful thinking that have set the stage for the tragic mistakes of our common Euro-Atlantic history. It is a time of both painful memories and hopes for the future.

Lithuania has spent ten years building a solid foundation changing and improving a culture and mentality which was forced upon our people for 50 years – more than three generations. We have worked hard to develop laws and governmental structures to institutionalize our long held moral and political values, to build a free market economy, and to retrain and develop a defense force. It was then and is today not only the goal of Lithuania to build a bridge to the West and return to the community of European nations, but we intend that the reintegration of Lithuania into Euro-Atlantic institutions should serve as an example to others, including Russia.

Building the Pillars

In the past year, there have been important developments in Lithuania's relationship with the Euro-Atlantic community. I want to talk about three of these developments and to discuss their implications for decisions the United States and Lithuania will have to make together about the structures and institutions which support and protect our community of shared values.

First, at the Washington Summit in April 1999, Lithuania was one of the countries the NATO allies agreed to consider for membership at the next NATO Summit. Shortly thereafter, Lithuania prepared and submitted a Membership Action Plan which details the financial and military commitments Lithuania is prepared to make to the Alliance.

Rather than wait for an invitation, whose timing we cannot impose, the Lithuanian Parliament has gone ahead and implemented major elements of the plan. By 2002, Lithuania will spend 2% of its Gross Domestic Product on defense, thereby standing with NATO states in her contribution to Euro-Atlantic security and in advancing the objectives of the Defense Capability Initiative. Our commitment to the common defense is not contingent on the actions or in-actions of a bureaucracy in Brussels. Lithuanians have resisted tyranny throughout the 20th century and will remain committed to democracy and freedom in the 21st.

Secondly, in December 1999, the European Union (EU) at the Helsinki Summit invited Lithuania to join the already negotiating group of EU accession candidates. This decision significantly advances the day when Lithuania will be fully integrated into the market mechanisms of Europe. It is with pride of solidarity that I note that Latvia was also invited during this second round of consideration and that the economic progress and market reforms of Estonia have earned its invitation at the first round of accession negotiations. It is not unreasonable to believe that in five to seven years – before the end of this decade – the three Baltic States, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, will be full members of the European Union and fully integrated into its common markets.

Finally, in February, the Lithuanian Parliament passed, and President Adamkus has signed an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows the court to try in absentia persons accused of genocide and war crimes. There were individual cases of disability, which prevented the defendant from participating in the trial. We did not want to be caught in an endless procedure. We wanted at least a moral conviction. Together with a project of comprehensive education, directed particularly at our youth, about the Holocaust and its tragic consequences, this is an important step in promoting justice in Europe and in ensuring that post-communist Europe is build on a solid moral foundation.

Russia as a Challenge

Before I turn to Russia and the deterioration of our hopes for its democratization, I would like to outline the question that these important developments pose for policy. Some have argued that the integration of Lithuania and the other Baltic States into the market and security institutions of the West should be halted or suspended as a plea or a quid pro quo for Russian good behavior. Presumably, these students of history believe that the idea of democracies trading together and sharing security responsibilities is so provocative and threatening that it will provoke the Russians into a paroxysm of imperialism abroad and despotism at home.

The alternative view and, you may not be surprised to learn, my own is that democracies in general, and European democracies in particular, have an inherent right to ally with one another in their common defense.

The developments I have described confirm that Lithuania is prepared to contribute to the military burdens of the alliance; is already integrating into the market economy described by the European Union; and, because of our history, is deeply committed to the moral values, which serve as the foundation of the Euro-Atlantic community.

I believe that there really is no question for policy. The Europe to which both Lithuanians and Americans are committed is a Europe where markets, morals, and military responsibilities overlap, and become mutually reinforcing and co-extensive with each other.

As for Russia, it is better to realize that despite Mr. Putin's recent words "we have never ever declared any region of the world a zone of our special interest", the realities are quite the opposite. It was proved by communist era as well as by the recent developments in Russia. As you know, Europeans, particularly Central Europeans, since we live closer to Russia, by necessity have greater and more immediate anxieties about setbacks in Russia's winding path towards democracy. The profoundly disturbing reports from Chechnya concern us all, but resonate more deeply in the imagination of Lithuanians due to the recent and still painful memories of Soviet occupation. While resisting their oppression and fighting for their liberty with great losses in the late forties and early fifties, Lithuanians were also called "bandits" by the Soviet machine of war propaganda. The term such as "international terrorism" was not needed as a slogan for such cases at that time.

The Strongest Political Pillar

It is worth reminding those here that the strongest political pillar of restoration of Lithuanian independence ten years ago was the consistent stand of the United States. Your policy of non-recognition of Soviet annexation of Lithuania during the long decades since 1940 proved to be right and an example for other democracies. Even Russia finally and officially condemned that unlawful annexation in the 1991-92 Russian - Lithuanian Treaty.

During this very period, in 1991-1992, there were indications that Russia might embark on the road to democracy by recognizing international norms of behavior and by building mutual confidence between nations. Their withdrawal of troops from our soil was an essential step in that direction. And, although other actions by the Russians since, both rhetorical and concrete, have been far less constructive, we have consistently worked to improve our bilateral relationship.

We worked to stabilize Kaliningrad by engaging the region in practical, cooperative projects, regional and cross-border activities, and people to people contacts. We have continued active political dialogue with Russia and are interested in developing mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of existing institutions. We have presented to the Russian Federation concrete proposals in the sphere of economics and policy; have proposed to strengthen and develop our trade cooperation by lifting artificial barriers; and to build confidence, i.e., by giving back Lithuanian embassy buildings in Paris, still occupied by Russia since the times of Nazi-Soviet cooperation under the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. We want to cooperate well on an equal footing. But the street must go in two directions.

We now realize, more than ever before, that full independence and security of Lithuania and her Baltic neighbors can only be achieved through complete integration in a much broader Euro-Atlantic region – truly a Europe whole and free. The only way Russia will overcome its prevailing territorial mentality is to dismiss what some have called its "imperial temptation". We must convince the Russians together that they must replace these temptations with solid, cooperative relations with a complete and coherent Euro-Atlantic community. The predicate for such friendly relations is now (as it was in the past) ties between the Baltic States and America and between the Baltic States and Europe. This is the bridge to true freedom and lasting democracy. It is based on shared values and goals with deep historical roots. The most basic value for both of us is respect for human rights in a secured democracy.

The U.S.-Baltic Charter of 1998 states that one of the basic political goals held in common by the United States and Lithuania is Lithuania's membership in NATO. The Washington summit in 1999 opened the door to the prospect of membership in NATO for all of the Baltic countries. All three of us are currently in accession talks with the EU. All of the major candidates in the U.S. Presidential process have spoken in favor of "the open door policy" and for allowing additional countries to NATO "when they are ready."

We took those words very seriously some years ago and today once again. We have worked hard to get ready, not because these actions will guarantee our membership, but because they are the right things for Lithuania to do. Our actions are premised on what is right for the people of Lithuania, which we believe also coincides with what is in our allies interests. We believe Lithuania and all Baltics are key and strategically important in the next round of NATO enlargement. We believe we will be ready. We applaud the policy of the United States and the Alliance that will not allow Russia a veto over the democratization of Europe. Once again, we depend on you to provide the forceful leadership necessary on this important issue.

All Europeans, but particularly Central Europeans, have a keen awareness of the shifts and struggles within Russia. We see the Chechnya war as a real, yet anachronistic colonial war, and potential lesson about the new Russia. We wait to see how Russia will respond to President Kuchma's reforms in the Ukraine. We are concerned about developments in Belarus. We see the re-emergence of populist radicalism in Austria as a reminder of the dangers of European history. Similarly, we would not like the populist radicalism growing in Russia reminding us of Uncle Joe again. We watch closely the signs and signals in all of Russia's dealings with the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union and we are worried.

Only through strengthening our bridges with the Atlantic Alliance, both militarily and economically, will we prevent history from repeating itself. Only through these ties will we enable democracy and the values we share to prevail in the new millennium.

Once again, as we have over the last sixty years, we look to the United States to provide the strength and the leadership to both the Alliance and the world to serve as a beacon for the Baltic states, to be our bridge to securing a lasting freedom and democracy. We appreciate all that you have done and continue to depend on you to set the example for the rest of the world.

The last ten years have brought us closer to achieving our goals. Together we have learned many lessons. I am hopeful our future will continue to get brighter and the bridge between the United States and Europe will withstand the challenges of the 21st century. May God bless all of us. u