Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius took part in the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the communism, and together with the former Polish President and iconic former Solidarity union leader Lech Walęsa, former Czech leader Vaclav Havel, and European leaders from Germany, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine addressed the gathering at the Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków recalling the road to independence.

Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius’ speech:

It is my great pleasure to be here and, together with you, celebrate our common achievement: the fall of the communism and the triumph of freedom. This is the day of our victory. It is 20 years today from the first free post-war elections in the Soviet block held in 1989 resulting in the formation of the first non-communist government led by Tadeusz Mazowiecki. This caused a crack on the wall of the Warsaw Pact countries, followed by the fall of the Berlin wall five months later.

Solidarity in Poland, Sąjūdis in Lithuania, as well as other emerging national movements in the Warsaw Pact countries and the Soviet Union turned into a chain of events that subsequently released us from fetters. The Baltic Road formed by 1.5 million people who joined hands from Vilnius to Tallinn demonstrated very clearly that there were no obstacles that could stop us on our way to freedom.

Our movement of independence in Central and Eastern Europe was united by common goals, common values, and common courage. And this courage was inspired both by the words of Pope John Paul II – “Do not be afraid” – and by our conviction that the truth was on our side and that we were not alone. Therefore, we were not afraid. We proved that it was not tank divisions that could defeat the evil empire that was built on lying and oppression. Only values and solidary protection of them win. Let us not forget this, and let us persevere in this. Let us transfer our values and our solidarity to our neighbours, especially in the East. And let us not be afraid to proclaim our values.