BALTIC DEPORTATIONS

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:48): On Sunday, I was given the honour of delivering the keynote speech, at the Latvian church in my electorate in Wayville, commemorating the 61^st anniversary of the deportation of Baltic citizens by the Soviet Union. Preparing for this has been a moving and humbling experience. I have to admit that, before entering the parliament, I was not aware of the scale and barbarism of the deportations that we commemorate this time every year, but, now that I have some insight, please forgive me if I tell it like it is.

Put simply, the deportations were a crime against humanity. They were a deliberate act of terror against civilians, perpetrated by an evil state that wanted to wipe the unique identity of the Baltic peoples off the face of the earth.

For decades, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian communities around the world have gathered to remember the deportations. I have been a regular attendee of this important event and have gained a strong sense of Baltic community and identity from the commemoration. It is precisely that sense of identity and community that the Soviets sought to destroy, but all they did was to make sure that, on one day of the year for eternity, Baltic peoples around the world would come together to remember the lives lost, the families torn apart and the atrocities inflicted on them and their nation.

For 12 years, the Soviets embarked upon a deliberate policy of ethnic and cultural cleansing. The goal was to make the beautiful and productive Baltic states just another pliant territory of the Soviet empire, stripped of any identity and any ability to resist. Hundreds of thousands of men and women—intellectuals, artists, academics, teachers, scientists, politicians, public servants and even Scout leaders—were taken away to almost certain death.

However, against the odds, some people survived. People like Ann Lehtmets: her story is like many others, but I think it is important that we tell these stories and that these stories continue to be retold and remembered. Ann Lehtmets, from Estonia, was deported to Siberia in 1941 after her husband was shot and her children were ripped from her arms. She faced a long and dangerous journey in a bleak and inhospitable land, with dehumanising forced labour, constant terror, cold and starvation, yet she survived 17 years in this hell. Her daughters, after years of prayer and searching, finally found her and brought her to Australia in 1959. I cannot imagine what Ann and the hundreds of thousands like her went through. Most did not survive to tell their story, but Ann's story echoes the stories of thousands of others.

Every exile and deportee who survived has risen far above those who oppressed them and tore apart their lives, their families and their communities. They have triumphed in a way that their oppressors would never understand, so it is fitting for South Australians to pause at this time of year and remember the deportations, and those who survived and those who perished. There is no doubt that the commemoration was a solemn occasion, but there was also a sense of celebration—a celebration of hope, and it is a hope that all peoples around the world can take heart from.

Over 12 years the Soviets tried to destroy the Baltic states and their peoples, their identity and their nations through terror. While the deportations came to an end in 1953, the Soviet Russian domination of the Baltic states continued until the eve of the collapse of the Soviet empire decades later. Despite the best efforts of the communists, the Baltic states are still there. They are independent, proud and part of the family of kindred nations, but each are also unique members of that family. The Soviet Union has been consigned to the ash heap of history, to borrow from a famous phrase, but Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia live free and strong.

Every year, this commemoration sends a message to every oppressed people around the world. For those today suffering at the hands of terror, this commemoration is a celebration of hope and of the certainty that they will ultimately triumph over evil. Tragically, individuals will perish and families will be torn apart, but nations, peoples, cultures and languages will live on past the inglorious reign of their oppressors. The people of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have proven that.

Mr Gardner: Good speech.