June 15, 1971
Page 19821
THE BALTIC NATIONS
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, one of the tragedies of modern history was the invasion and subsequent fall of the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on this day 31 years ago.
The Balts are proud peoples who have lived peacefully on the shores of the Baltic from time immemorial. The sudden extinction of their national sovereignty and their brutal absorption into the Soviet Union was an injustice which still burns in the memory of thousands upon thousands of these dispossessed peoples.
Mr. President, we have in recent years been coming to the end of a period of widespread colonialism in the world. Yet we sometimes forget that these countries of the Baltic are still colonies. I pray that they might some day regain their independence and freedom, and that the peace-loving peoples of the area who have been scattered throughout the world can return and find once again their national identity.