Ambassador Gilchrist’s Remarks at the 81st anniversary commemoration event of the Sumner Welles Declaration,
Washington Square, Vilnius.
Foreign Minister Landsbergis, Professor Landsbergis, Honorable Member of Parliament Emanuelis Zingeris, Distinguished guests,
Having served so much of my career in this region, it is always an honor to represent the United States when we mark the anniversary of the Sumner Welles declaration — a policy decision that stands, in my opinion, as one of the most important and principled foreign policy decisions that we, as a country, have ever made.
Let’s recall a part of that document:
During these past few days, the devious processes whereunder the political independence and territorial integrity of … Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania … were to be deliberately annihilated by one of their more powerful neighbors, have been rapidly drawing to their conclusion.
From the day when the peoples of those Republics first gained their independent and democratic form of government the people of the United States have watched their admirable progress in self- government with deep and sympathetic interest.
The policy of this Government is universally known. The people of the United States are opposed to predatory activities no matter whether they are carried on by the use of force or by the threat of force. They are likewise opposed to any form of intervention on the part of one state, however powerful, in the domestic concerns of any other sovereign state, however weak.
Those words guided our policy for 50 years, until that remarkable period beginning in 1989 — from the Baltic Way, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, to your declaration of re-independence, to the re-opening of our embassy and, ultimately, the collapse of the Soviet Union, 30 years ago this December.
Lithuania will always be an inspiration, for the way you stood up, first, and declared that you would have your independence and your freedom. You know what it means to stand up and say, “We will determine our future.“ You know what it means to face down the tanks and sacrifice everything.
Thirty years later, so much has changed, and yet — thirty years later it is Belarus that still seeks that freedom and that self-determination. It is Belarusians who are seen in images around the world protesting against tyranny. And it is Lithuania that is offering safe haven. It is Lithuania that is galvanizing like-minded nations to say that we do not recognize the fraudulent August 2020 elections.
For three decades, the United States has consistently supported a free, independent, and democratic Belarus. And despite the horrific violence and oppression of the past year, we have hope. Brave Belarusians — with courageous women at the forefront — have faced, and continue to face, tyranny while saying, “We will determine our future.“
The people of Belarus deserve better than a repressive, illegitimate regime that is willing to gamble with the country’s independence and territorial integrity by turning increasingly for support to an opportunistic Russia. The United States stood by Lithuania 81 years ago, 30 years ago, 17 years ago when you joined NATO. And we stand together with you today: as our transatlantic ally and in support of security, democracy, and human rights — in support of the fundamental notion that everyone deserves the right to self-determination … the right to choose their leaders and their future.
And, again, I go back to the text of the Welles Declaration, which stated:
The policy of this Government is universally known. The people of the United States are opposed to predatory activities no matter whether they are carried on by the use of force or by the threat of force. They are likewise opposed to any form of intervention on the part of one state, however powerful, in the domestic concerns of any other sovereign state, however weak.
These words are as true today as they were 81 years ago. And we are as proud to stand with Lithuania today as we were 81 years ago. The legacy of Sumner Welles and this declaration lives on in our mutual support for democracy, freedom and self-determination — in this region, and around the world. Thank you for honoring that legacy and our enduring friendship.
