February 5th Events in Washington, D.C. Washington, DC (JBANC) – Latvian President Vaira Vîíe-Freiberga visits the nation’s capital next week to participate in two events on Capitol Hill which will lend prominence to Latvia’s current aspirations to strengthen both political and military ties to the West. Along with a February 5 luncheon in the Capitol, President Freiberga is also scheduled to make remarks at a reception to open a traveling exhibit of the Latvian Occupation museum. In between the two Hill events, President Freiberga is to present a lecture at Georgetown University on the topic of Euro-Atlantic Partnerships. Latvia’s main foreign policy priorities, as are those of her neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, is to become a member of NATO and the European Union. Lithuanian President Adamkus has been in Washington, DC over the past two weeks accentuating those same points with both the White House and congressional lawmakers. The Bush administration has been supportive of continued NATO enlargement and has been working closely with the aspirant countries. The exhibit from the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia entitled “Latvia Returns to the Free World: Latvia's 50 Years of Occupation and Recovery of Freedom” will be open from February 5–9, 2002 in the Rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building, located on 1st & C Streets, N.E., in Washington, D.C. The event is being sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), co-chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus and is being organized by the American Latvian Association (ALA). The opening of the exhibition will take place on Tuesday, February 5, at 6:00 p.m and will be open daily from 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. The exhibit has been in sixteen European centers over the last three years. The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia was founded in 1993. The traveling exhibit offers a comprehensive view of Latvia’s experience during 50 years of occupation, tracing the years of Soviet and Nazi terror, which decimated Latvia’s population. The exhibit in Washington will also focus on the American policy of non-recognition of the Soviet occupation of Latvia, as well the country’s cooperation with the government of the United States during World War II. For more information on this event, please contact the ALA office at 301-340-1914 or by e-mail: alainfo@alausa.org. A February 5 noontime luncheon with President Freiberga in the United States Capitol is being organized by the U.S.-Baltic Foundation (USBF), the Baltic American Freedom League (BAFL) and the Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC). For more information, please email USBF at: karina@usbaltic.org or call 202-393-3338. Both ALA and the JBANC are major sponsors of the event. |
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