Ronald Reagan

“ The United States was born in a War of Independence against an oppressive rule. We stood up for inalienable rights given by God and declared that governments that systematically violate those rights lose their claim to legitimacy.
It is a tragedy of our time that many peoples continue to live under the brutal totalitarian rule of the Soviet empire. We will expose the inhumanity of the oppressors and speak out on behalf of the oppressed. ”

“ The United States has never recognized their forced incorporation into the U.S.S.R. It is illegal, indefensible, and iniquitous.
We are engaged in a very real struggle to focus the world's attention on one of the gravest wrongs of our age-the stubborn and contemptuous Soviet disregard for the sovereignty of independent nations and the rights of oppressed peoples. As evidence, we hold up its first victims-the heroic Baltic nations we honor today. To do less is to acquiesce in injustice and to betray our heritage as champions of human freedom. ”

“ We will denounce tyranny and champion the cause of its victims.
Baltic Freedom Day provides these opportunities. On this day, we observe the anniversary of the callous and treacherous subjugation of three independent and freedom-loving states. ”