Today 23 August, on the 40th anniversary of the Baltic Appeal, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu presented the signatories of the appeal with ceremonial plaques of appreciation. They were presented to Mart Niklus and Enn Tarto, and Erik Udam and Endel Ratas were remembered.
“Forty years ago, standing up for Estonia’s freedom and national sovereignty took a lot of inherent courage. We remember those who risked serious consequences to send a message from behind the Iron Curtain to the Western world about the injustice that had befallen the Baltic States,” Minister Reinsalu said at the event.
As a reaction to the appeal, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on 13 January 1983. “Thanks to the shared courage of these 45 Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian citizens, the first international organisation took a position in support of the Baltic States. It marked the moment when the international community began paying attention to the Baltic States, which greatly helped us in restoring our independence,” Reinsalu said.
23 August marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of a memorandum by 45 Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian citizens with the demand to disclose the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with its secret protocol, declare it null and void ab initio and restore the independence of the Baltic States. Read the full text here (in Estonian): https://vm.ee/et/balti-kett-30-mrp-80
Photos of the event (the gallery is being updated): https://www.flickr.com/photos/estonian-foreign-ministry/albums/72157710504611432
Additional information:
Kaisa Hanna Parel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
[email protected]
+372 637 7618 / +372 53323045