A joint resolution designating "Baltic Freedom Day".
PL 101-309 (S.J.Res.251), enacted 06/18/1990

104 STAT. 264 
PUBLIC LAW 101-309—JUNE 18, 1990 
Public Law 101-309 
101st Congress 
Joint Resolution 
June 18, 1990 
Designating "Baltic Freedom Day". 
[S. J. Res. 251] 
Whereas the people of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and 
Lithuania have cherished the principles of religious and political 
freedom and have recently held mass demonstrations calling for 
freedom and independence; 
Whereas from 1918 to 1940, the Baltic States existed as independent, 
sovereign nations and as fully recognized members of the League 
of Nations; 
Whereas 1990 marks the 50th anniversary of the invasion, seizure, 
and illegal incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union 
against the national will and the desire for independence and 
freedom of the Baltic people; 
Whereas 1990 also marks the 50th anniversary of the continued 
policy of the United States of not recognizing the illegal forcible 
occupation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union; 
Whereas, due to Soviet and Nazi collusion, the Baltic States suffered 
a loss of one-third of their population by the end of World War II; 
Whereas, under Soviet occupation, the native Baltic peoples have 
been deported from their homelands to forced labor and con-
centration camps in Siberia and elsewhere; 
Whereas the people of the Baltic States have unique indigenous 
cultures, national traditions, and languages, which have been 
threatened by decades of russification; 
Whereas the Soviet Union has introduced into the Baltic States 
ecologically unsound industries without proper safeguards, and 
the presence of those industries has critically endangered the 
environment and well-being of the Baltic people; 
Whereas, as part of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's campaign 
of openness, restructuring, and democratization, the Soviet lead-
ers have officially acknowledged the illegality of the secret proto-
cols to the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which led to the Soviet 
military invasion of the Baltic States in, 1940; 
Whereas, in the spirit of openness and democratization, the Baltic 
peoples are affirming their right, upheld both by international 
law and by the Soviet Constitution, to restore full independence 
through parliamentary and peaceful means; and 
Whereas the United States, as a member of the United Nations, has 
repeatedly upheld the right of nations to self-determination: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That— 
(1) the Congress recognizes the continuing desire and right of 
the people of the Baltic States for freedom and independence; 
(2) the Congress, in keeping with the policy of the United 
States to deny recognition of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic 
States, urges the Soviet Union to recognize the sovereignty of 
the Baltic States and to yield to the rightful demands of the 
PUBLIC LAW 101-309—JUNE 18, 1990 
104 STAT. 265 
Baltic peoples for independence from foreign domination and 
oppression, as guaranteed by Principle Eight of the Helsinki 
Accords, to which the Soviet Union is a signatory; 
(3) June 14, 1990, the anniversary of the first mass deporta-
tion of the Baltic peoples from their homelands in 1941, is 
designated as "Baltic Freedom Day", as a symbol of the solidar-
ity of the people of the United States with the aspirations of the 
captive Baltic people; and 
(4) the President is authorized and requested to issue a 
proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to 
observe Baltic Freedom Day with appropriate ceremonies and 
activities, and to submit to the Congress within 60 days a 
statement articulating specific actions the United States 
Government is taking, in fulfillment of the intent of the non-
recognition principle to— 
(A) support the peaceful restoration of the independence 
of the Baltic States; and 
(B) to encourage Soviet support for a peaceful transition 
to independence and democracy in the Baltic States. 
Approved June 18, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S.J. Res. 251: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990): 
Feb. 26, considered and passed Senate. 
June 12, considered and passed House.