JBANC Press Release. From The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

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JBANC Press Release. From The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (11)

Kuumad uudised | 03 Aug 2004 | EWR

JBANC Press Release
August 3, 2004
Contact: Karl Altau

From The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Media Center: http://www.victimsofcommunism.org/media/article.php?
National Capital Memorial Commission Unanimously Approves Favored Site for V.O.C. Memorial

Washington, D.C. – The National Capital Memorial Commission voted unanimously on July 29 to approve a site at the northeast corner of Maryland and Constitution Avenues NE for a memorial to the 100 million victims of communism. Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Chairman Lee Edwards made a compelling case for the Foundation’s preferred location. He argued the site was fitting because it is within sight of the Statue of Freedom perched atop the U.S. Capitol Dome and because of its proximity to the headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Edwards was supported by representatives of ethnic groups victimized by Communism -- Marie Ciliberti from the Polish-American community, Anhthu Lu from the Vietnamese-American community, and Karl Altau from the Joint Baltic American National Committee. Marc Wheat from the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, who was instrumental in collecting support from twenty-seven members of Congress for the memorial, also testified. The next step will be approval of the site at September meetings of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.

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Congressional Resolution Introduced to Support VOC Memorial Project

On July 22, 2004, House Baltic Caucus co-chairman Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) introduced a resolution (H. Res. 752) supporting the effort to build the memorial. The resolution is currently co-sponsored by Congressmen Mark Souder (R-IN) and William Lipinski (D-IL), who besides being a member of the Baltic Caucus is also co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Central Europe.

The text of H. Res. 752:

Expressing continued support for the construction of the Victims of Communism Memorial.
Whereas section 905 of the FRIENDSHIP Act (40 U.S.C. 1003 note) authorizes the construction of a memorial to honor the victims of communism;
Whereas in 2004, a location for the Victims of Communism Memorial is to be selected and construction of the Memorial in the District of Columbia is scheduled to begin;
Whereas construction of the Memorial is supported by the Baltic-American community and other ethnic communities in the United States; and
Whereas it is necessary for the people of the United States to be reminded of the importance of the Memorial and continue to support its progression: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives expresses continued support for the construction of the Victims of Communism Memorial.

Statement of Karl Altau to the National Capital Memorial Commission
Regarding the Victims of Communism Memorial
July 29, 2004

Dear Chairman Parsons and Members of the Commission. My name is Karl Altau and besides being a Board Member of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, my day job is as the Managing Director of the Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC), where I have served for over seven years.

I would like to emphasize the great support the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian American communities in the United States have for this project. It was my parent’s generation that came, thankfully, to the U.S. as a result of the terrible crimes of Soviet communism. That generation is now quite old and we do not have much time before they too are gone. Communism wreaked immense havoc not only in the Baltic countries, which were illegally and forcibly occupied by an extremely intolerant regime and political system, but also throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Our Baltic-American communities have long had many friends and allies among the communities of Central and Eastern Europeans here in the United States. We have stuck together for over 50 years to fight against the oppression and horror that communism wrought and to help set this record straight for future generations.

The United States was steadfast in its policy of non-recognition against the illegal occupation and annexation of the Baltic countries and in helping to defeat communism in that part of the world. We are very happy to see the support continue, in the name of the congressional resolution (H. Res. 752) introduced last week advocating the construction of the victims of communism memorial, which we are discussing today. We thank our many friends in Congress including Congressmen Souder, Lipinski and Shimkus in seeing this project through.

We thank the Commission for its support as well and look forward to working with you in this very important endeavor.

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JOINT BALTIC AMERICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, INC.

Representing:
Estonian American National Council, Inc.
American Latvian Association, Inc.
Lithuanian American Council, Inc.

400 Hurley Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850

Tel: (301) 340-1954
Fax: (301) 309-1406
E-Mail:
Net: http://jbanc.org

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