LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER INVITED OPPOSITION LEADER OF BURMA/MYANMAR TO THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES EVENT IN VILNIUS
Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis sent a letter to opposition leader of Burma/Myanmar, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and invited her to the Community of Democracies Ministerial Meeting which will be held in Vilnius on 1 July 2011.
Foreign Minister thanked Aung San Suu Kyi for the video record of 15 December 2010 in which she addressed the Community of Democracies asking to assist Burma in striving for democratic changes The Minister noted, that ten years ago the inaugural meeting of the organization in Warsaw also started with video address by Aung San Suu Kyi.“This message of hope for freedom until this very day remains at the core of the Community of Democracies principles and objectives. Then you expressed a wish to be able to attend a Community meeting in person. Let us now extend you our heartfelt invitation to participate in Vilnius Community of Democracies Ministerial Meeting,” Foreign Minister’s letter of 28 January reads.
Minister A.Ažubalis stressed, that even though Aung San Suu Kyi regained freedom, as a Chairman of the Community of Democracies he was deeply concerned about the situation in Burma/Myanmar, which has been ruled by military regime for the last 50 years.
The head of Lithuanian diplomacy assured, that the Community of Democracies will support Aung San Suu Kyi’s efforts in striving for democracy and respect for human rights in Burma/Myanmar.
In 1990, Burma/Myanmar opposition politician and former leader of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Sakharov Prize, and in 1991 she received the Nobel Peace Prize. In the period between 1989 and 2010 the politician spent 15 years under house arrest.
The Community of Democracies was established in 2000 in Warsaw on the initiative of the then Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. This intergovernmental organization unites more than 100 members, it aims to promote and strengthen democracy and democratic institutions all over the world. Lithuania chairs the organization until the middle of this year.
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