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The President of Latvia Mr.Valdis Zatlers and the IICC/UOK at The Joint Baltic American National Committee 2009 Congress i Washington, DC on May 15-16

13.05.2009

PRESS RELEASE

The President of Latvia Mr.Valdis Zatlers and the IICC/UOK at
The Joint Baltic American National Committee 2009 Congress i Washington, DC on May 15-16

Baltic Regional Security - Old Threats and New Challenges


Mrs. Camilla Andersson and Mr. Anders Hjemdahl from the Swedish IICC/UOK - the Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism - are invited to speak at the yearly Joint Baltic American National Committee Congress in Washington, DC. The Keynote Speaker of this year's event is the President of Latvia, Mr. Valdis Zatlers.

The two day event starts with a Congressional Briefing at the US Capitol concerning cyber security and related issues.

The theme of this year's conference is "Baltic Regional Security - Old Threats and New Challenges", with the main topics being:

- Regional Geopolitics: Current and Future Security Threats
- Ensuring Stability: Strategic Solutions and Regional Partnerships
- Policies of the new U.S. Administration and Congress: Baltic-U.S. Relations
- Diaspora Relations and Citizen Diplomacy: Views across the Atlantic

The IICC/UOK are going to speak about their work with the Prague Declaration on European Memory and Conscience, the subsequent Resolution on Totalitarianism in the European Parliament, and of the importance of knowledge and understanding of historical events for the true reunification of Europe. The IICC/UOK will also discuss the upcoming events marking the 20th Anniversary of the liberated and reunited Europe.

Please find the full programme of the conference and a list of participants below:

JBANC 2009 Conference

Baltic Regional Security - Old Threats and  New Challenges


Friday Program, May 15, 2009

EVENT 1: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Congressional Briefing on cyber security and related issues.

Moderator - Dr. Stephen Blank, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
Michael Russell, House Committee on Homeland Security
Paul Joyal, National Strategies, Inc
staff members from Homeland Security committee

EVENT 2:  4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Presentation/panel discussion at Heritage Foundation, co-hosted by Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Presenters include representatives from the VOCMF's Global Museum on Communism, GMOC and the Swedish-based Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism IICC/UOK.
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Reception.

Presenters include:
Dr. Lee Edwards Chairman, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Marcus Kolga Global Museum on Communism
Anders Hjemdahl UOK, The Institute for Information about Crimes of Communism
Camilla Andersson UOK, The Institute for Information about Crimes of Communism
Pavel Morazau Third Way coordinator, Belarus
Daris Delins (Perry Street Advisors, New York, "The Soviet Story" www.sovietstory.com


Saturday Program, May 16, 2009
(Renaissance M. St. Hotel, 1143 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20037)

8:00 - 9:00 Registration and coffee
9:00 - 9:15 Opening Remarks:
JBANC President Marju Rink-Abel Estonian American Nat'l Council
Diplomatic Welcome:
Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics, Embassy of Latvia

9:20 KEYNOTE SPEECH:
His Excellency Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia

Introduction by  
Mr. Bruce Rogers, Charge d'Affaires, United States Embassy to Latvia

9:45-11:00
PANEL 1 - Regional Geopolitics: Current and Future Security Threats

Robert Nurick, Monterrey Institute
Janusz Bugajski CSIS
Harri Tiido Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

11:00-11:15 Coffee break

11:15-12:30
PANEL 2 - Ensuring Stability: Strategic Solutions and Regional Partnerships

Julianne Smith, Dept. of Defense
Andris Teikmanis, State Secretary, Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nicholas Kralev, The Washington Times

12:30-2:00
Keynote Speaker - Stewart Baker,
former Assistant Secretary for Policy at U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

2:00-3:15
PANEL 3 Policies of the new U.S. Administration and Congress: Baltic-U.S. Relations

Matt Kaminski Wall Street Journal
Alan Meltzer Deputy Director, Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs, State Dept.
Vytautas Nauduzas, Lithuanian Foreign Ministry

3:15 - 3:30 Break

3:30-4:45
PANEL 4 Diaspora Relations and Citizen Diplomacy: Views across the Atlantic

Aho Rebas Office of the Minister for Population and Ethnic Affairs, Estonia
Mendy Nitsch, International Affairs, Office of the Secretary of State, Maryland
Andrea Strano, Regional Public Diplomacy Desk Officer, EUR, State Dept
Martins Sausins President, World Federation of Free Latvians

4:45-5:00 Conclusion, New JBANC Chairman (American Latvian Association)

About the IICC/UOK - the Institute for Information on the Crimes of Communism
The IICC/UOK is a non-profit, non-governmental, politically independent organization with the purpose of spreading essential information on the crimes of communism and to promote vigilance against all totalitarian ideologies and antidemocratic movements

Homepage: www.crimesofcommunism.org
Online Education Center / Virtual Museum on the crimes of Communism: www.aboutcommunism.com

E-mail: info@crimesofcommunism.org

IICC/UOK,  Box 3037, 103 61 Stockholm, Sweden, phone: +46 709 42 92 02

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