Lithuania marks 25th anniversary of Baltic Way

 Lithuania held various activities here on Saturday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way.
People joined hands with each other on Saturday at the cathedral square of Vilnius to show what happened 25 years ago.
On August 23, 1989, about two million people of all ages joined their hands to form a human chain spanning over 600 kilometers across three Baltic state -- Estonia, Latvia and Tithuania, which were Republics of the Soviet Union.
It marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, signed on August 23, 1939.
The protest was also designed to draw attention by demonstrating a popular desire for independence for each of the three countries.
"The Baltic way was a unique initiative at that time. Even today with all means of social networking it would be a difficult and challenging action," Tomas Janeliunas, professor of Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, told Xinhua on Saturday.
"It reminds us that unity and common goal is the most valuable asset of any nation. Today this asset is even more valuable and the lack of unity may lead even to military conflicts as we can see in Ukraine," he added.