On April 24 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius and Chief of Defence of Latvia Lieutenant General Raimonds Graube attended an event for tributing Lithuanian and Latvian guerrillas in Subate, Latvia. The event honoured the memory of guerrilla fighters who fought and were killed in northern Lithuania and southern Latvia in the post-war period. The Lithuanian and Latvian Chiefs of Defence unveiled a memorial plaque bearing names of the victims of freedoms fights, the event was also attended by guerrilla fighters of both countries, riflemen, leadership of Ilukste municipality and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
"We are marking here a crucial moment in the history of our mutual struggle for freedom. The example set by those men whose names are immortalised with this memorial plaque is profoundly meaningful in raising the young military of our countries today," Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen A.Pocius said at the ceremony. The General also emphasised that the historical circumstances and the spirit of freedom defenders which had united them for their one fight and had been preserved over ages is also reflected in today's military cooperation: Lithuanian and Latvian troops participate in joint military projects, military exercises held in the Baltic region, and multinational operations.
The Chiefs of Defence of Lithuania and Latvia also attended a holly mass celebrated to honour the freedom defenders and laid flowers at the monument for the Lithuanian soldiers killed in the struggle for freedom against the Bolsheviks in 1919-1920.
Names of approximately seven tens of Lithuanian guerrillas of the Bear Territorial Unit of Vytautas Military District killed in northern Lithuania and southern Latvia between 1944 and 1962 are inscribed in the monument alongside those of Latvian fighters. Killed guerrillas were often transported to Subate and buried there. They have been identified with reference to historical documents and other material. Lithuanian and Latvian guerrillas worked closely together in the period of armed resistance against the Soviet occupation, Lithuanian guerrillas of the Bear Territorial Unit of Vytautas Military District were frequently hospitably welcomed by Latvian people and positions in the organisational structure of Latvia's armed resistance were granted to Lithuanian guerrilla unit commanders.
After the ceremony General Pocius departed for Estonia where the Baltic Chiefs of Defence will conduct a meeting on April 25-26 in Kõue.
Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Capt Skomantas Povilionis
Photo: courtesy of the Latvian Armed Forces
