News

Dear Madam Chairperson,
Dear President of the Parliamentary Assembly,
Dear guests and colleagues,

We are greatly pleased, Mr President, to welcome you in Vilnius in the year of the 35th anniversary of Helsinki Final Act and the 20th anniversary of the Charter of Paris. These two dates will be remembered at the Astana summit of OSCE too.

Preamble of the Charter of Paris says that courage of men and women has led to vitality of the ideas of the Helsinki Final Act. Thus taking this occasion I would like to thank my courageous compatriots - a priest Karolis Garuckas, a scientist Eytan Finkelstein, a poet and a teacher Ona Lukauskaitė-Poškienė, a human rights activist Viktoras Petkus, a poet Tomas Venclova, who in November 1976 established Lithuanian Helsinki Group. Their courage has become an important personal example of building civic society in Lithuania and so it remains nowadays.

Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris are two important documents that have landmarked development of many European states.

Helsinki Final Act has firmly proved that human rights and fundamental freedoms are constituent parts of comprehensive security, along with military security, economic and environmental dimension. Consistent respect and attention to human rights, freedom of expression, religion and belief has consequently led the countries of Eastern and Central Europe towards freedom.

Fundamental principles of the Charter of Paris and other OSCE documents stating that European security is indivisible and all countries are free to choose security alliances has landmarked the direction of Lithuania’s return to international community through NATO accession and the EU membership.

Dear All,

Taking this occasion I would also like to thank the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania that set the Lithuanian chairmanship of OSCE as a national priority.

Continuity and consistent implementation of already existing commitments are the preconditions of successful chairmanship. Thus Lithuania will “inherit” the long-term agenda of the Organisation. And only joint attempts of the entire OSCE community – that of participating states, the Parliamentary Assembly, OSCE institutions, of each and every will guide us to successful implementation of objectives.

We all expect the Astana summit to prove that security community will further be created on the principles of Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris and other fundamental OSCE commitments, thus leaving no space for brutal force. The continent without dividing borders and free of zones of influence is a long-term devotion requiring continuous political dialogue and close cooperation among states.

Lithuanian considers work on resolution of protracted conflicts in Moldova, South Caucasus, issues of freedom of media and protection of journalists as priority areas in its’ chairmanship agenda.

Altogether with EU, USA, Russia, Central Asia and other OSCE regions Lithuania seeks to improve regional and subregional cooperation in general and in very specific areas, such as drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, manifestations of radicalism. A successful endeavor brings security to Central Asia, OSCE area and beyond.

Lithuania highly values attempts and long-term contribution of the Parliamentary Assembly to the strengthening of the value-based fundamentals of the Organisation and participating states. We hope that elections will further retain utmost importance in the OSCE agenda, thus ensuring cooperative and high quality election monitoring process in the spirit of 1997 Copenhagen Agreement between ODHIR and the Parliamentary Assembly.

Hopefully Lithuanian and OSCE PA agenda of the year 2011 will be marked with joint ideas, projects and decisions – the Parliamentary Assembly has always been a laboratory of progressive political ideas and PA session in Vilnius is just one of the examples.

Summing all it up I wish and hope that the spirit of the Helsinki Decalogue and the Charter of Paris, that has been inspiring people and nations, and encouraging progressive ideas, will remain an imperative to each and every thus leading us towards successful resolution of new challenges and new threats, and will hold the value-based fundamentals of the states thus further guiding us towards “a new era of democracy, peace and unity in Europe“.