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"30 years ago, having our own state was our goal, our dream, and our future. Today, nothing has changed. Our state is the greatest treasure that belongs to every one of us. Everything we do for our state is for the future of our children and our nation. Let us never forget it. Let us do everything to strengthen it, because it is all in our hands," said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, at the opening of the conference "A Dream Fulfilled: Freedom and Independence," dedicated to the 30th anniversary of restoring the independent State of Latvia.
"The dream is freedom and independence. The fulfilment of the dream: breaking free from the shackles of the Soviet occupation and restoring our statehood. At that distant and simultaneously recent time 30 and more years ago, it was the most important thing: we had a dream, and heroes were born out of this dream who were able to fulfil it," said the Speaker of the Saeima, stressing that everyone who cherished the dream of a free Latvia is a hero of that era.
The Supreme Council accomplished the most significant task of that time: in very difficult circumstances, it adopted the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia, thus fully completing the steps that were legally necessary to fulfil the people's dream—to restore their state, said Mūrniece, expressing gratitude to the Members of the Supreme Council for their vote on 4 May 1990 and 21 August 1991. "You will forever remain the restorers of our statehood, standing side by side with the founders of our state," expressed Mūrniece, emphasising that, on 21 August, it became clear to us and to the whole world that the Republic of Latvia had returned to the world map, both de iure and de facto.
Since then, we have been able to relaunch all the statehood forms and structures in Latvia that are necessary for the people of this country to exercise their power and will and to pursue further development, said the Speaker of the Saeima, underscoring that this is still a challenging task.
"When we restored the state and officially assumed power 30 years ago, on the one hand, our historical memory had preserved an unambiguously positive image of the statehood that had emerged on 18 November 1918. On the other hand, the long years of Soviet occupation had deeply instilled the greatest scepticism and disbelief towards state institutions and everything official," said Mūrniece, noting that even today we should still ask ourselves how skilfully we manage to embody and represent our country in our everyday lives through the Saeima, government, municipalities, and various other state structures. The Speaker of the Saeima encouraged the participants of the conference to seek ways to improve our country, to bring it closer to the people, and to increase participation when it comes to making important decisions.
Velta Čebotarenoka, President of the 4 May Declaration Club, recalled the day when, 30 years ago, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia voted for the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia, saying that it still evokes a variety of feelings: uncertainty, confusion, but, above all, courage. We were chosen by the course of history, we did not betray our people, and we showed our determination to vote for Latvia's independence, said Čebotarenoka.
In addition, Čebotarenoka emphasised that it was high time to start researching the documents of the Popular Front of Latvia, as well as the work done by the Supreme Council during the three years it operated. Today's conference marks the beginning of a serious assessment of the work carried out by the Supreme Council, so that its hard, daily effort of building new state institutions and reforming legislation of the re-established Latvia does not fade away, explained the President of the 4 May Declaration Club.
The conference "A Dream Fulfilled: Freedom and Independence" takes place on 23 and 24 August. It brings together Members of the Supreme Council, senior state officials, representatives of the Popular Front of Latvia, constitutional law experts, historians, diplomats and foreign political leaders of the time to look back at the time when Latvia regained its independence. The conference is organised by the Saeima, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 4 May Declaration Club, and the National Library of Latvia.
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Saeima Press Service