Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 99 Part 2.djvu/953

 PROCLAMATION 5352—JUNE 14, 1985

99 STAT. 2063

Much remains to be done, and all of us can play a role. Volunteers are needed to help staff crisis intervention programs. Parents themselves must recognize the importance of keeping open lines of communications with their children and strive to strengthen family relationships. Families are the cornerstone of America. All of America's families should be encouraged to continue strengthening their ties through gatherings and activities such as family reunions that involve as many members as possible. The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 64, has designated the period be- Ante, p. 92. tween Mother's Day, May 12, and Father's Day, June 16, 1985, as "Family Reunion Month" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this period. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the period between May 12 and June 16, 1985, as Family Reunion Month. I call upon all Americans to celebrate this period with appropriate ceremonies and activities and recognition of the resources available to help strengthen families. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and ninth. '-

RONALD REAGAN

Proclamation 5352 of June 14, 1985

Baltic Freedom Day, 1985

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By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation This year marks the 45th anniversary of the United States non-recognition policy by which our government refuses to recognize the forcible Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It has been 45 years since the dark year of 1940 when invading Soviet armies, in collusion with the Nazi regime, overran these three independent Baltic Republics. The atrocious character of the Soviet oppression was shockingly illustrated by the imprisonment, deportation, and murder of close to 100,000 Baits during a four-day reign of terror June 14-17, 1941. The suffering of this brutal period was made even worse when Nazi forces struck back through these three states at the beginning of the Nazi-Soviet war and instituted a civil administration under control of the nefarious Gestapo. Due to Soviet and Nazi tyranny, by the end of World War II, the Baltic nations had lost twenty percent of their total population. Today, suppression and persecution are the daily burdens of the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian people. Soviet policies are specifically targeted toward the very ethnic life and historical heritage of the Baltic nations. Russification takes place under many guises: forced relocation, expanded colonization by Russian immigrants, and heavy pressure against the indigenous religious, cultural, and social traditions. Yet despite this crushing system, the Baltic peoples courageously continue to resist amalgamation by pressing for their national, political, and religious rights. Peaceful expression of demands through the underground press, petitions to government officials, demonstrations, the activities of the Catholic

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