Senior scientific researcher, Lithuanian Oncological Center
We were at the inter-city telephone exchange that terrible night of January 12th when we heard it broadcasted that our Parliament was prepared to die. Their heart-felt prayer echoed in the air simultaneously with the Vilnius radio announcers's last anxious message: „the voice of Independent Lithuania Radio will soon be silenced due to the brutality of the Soviet occupant army. But this does not mean that we will be quiet. It is only a forced interruption." From below, near Vingis Park, green monsters were already crawling, shaking the entire district with shots. They turned into the courtyard of the radio and television Center. A little after 5 p.m. on January 13th we heard a session of Parliament broadcasted over the radio. Suddenly we heard the chairman announce that the well-known committee was going to take the building by force, so the session was being closed and martial law was announced. I fell to my knees and prayed /.../ Soon we heard a composed voice - it was probably Česlovas Stankevičius - announce: „The session is being continued." With joy I thought to myself: „It's a good thing that we had an opportunity to see how dignified and honorable our leaders are."
Lithuania, 1991.01.13 : documents, testimonies, comments. - Vilnius : State Publishing Center, 1992, p. 196.