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On Tuesday, 14 June, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, took part in the opening of the conference Remembering 14 June 1941. In her address, Āboltiņa pointed out: “Our duty is to never forget those tragic events in the lives of our people and to recall the injustice that was done to them.”

“Seventy years ago, on 14 June 1941, more than 15 thousand of our compatriots were uprooted from their motherland and brutally deported in cattle cars to Siberia. Human beings were stripped of everything; weak and helpless, they were cast into the horrors of exile and subjected to terror,” described the Speaker.

“Deportations took place in a great hurry and, in line with secret instructions of the occupation regime, no one cared about what would happen to the deportees later. The main objective was to take the undesirable elements away from their native land. The term undesirable elements was applied to people – that is, to inhabitants of Latvia, our fellow citizens, the elderly and small children – who above all cherished the future of a free and independent Latvia and who loved their country,” said Āboltiņa.

The Speaker thanked the Siberian children who passed on their life stories about the years in exile to their children and grandchildren. She noted that “despite the horrible events of the deportations, our grandparents, parents and children protected their dearest possession, namely, faith in a free and independent Latvia, so that today we can freely sing ‘God, bless Latvia’”.

The conference on Remembering 14 June 1941 was dedicated to children deported to Siberia in 1941; its organiser was the Sibīrijas Bērni Foundation, which supports and aids victims of communist terror.

Photos from the conference on Remembering 14 June 1941 are available at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157626834524451/with/5831694575/
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima.