‘Freedom Day’ Celebrated by Lithuanians
Several thousand people gathered in central Vilnius on Sunday to join President Vytautas Landsbergis in an enthusiastic celebration of “freedom day.”
The event was organized hastily last week in the wake of the failed coup in Moscow, which accelerated Lithuania’s independence drive.
Landsbergis, hands clasped above his head in a victory gesture, thanked supporters who hailed his role in helping Lithuania regain sovereignty.
“Lithuania has turned an appalling page in its history and is now starting a blank page,” Landsbergis told the crowd. “Today the Lithuanian republic enters the world as a free republic,” he said, and he blessed “this holy day.”
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