Today, President Dalia Grybauskaite welcomed His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, to Vilnius, Lithuania. Two years ago, her Estonian counterpart, President Toomas Ilves, also defied Beijing by meeting the Dalai Lama. Their gestures of principle and graciousness, made in the face of Chinese pressure, are very significant.
It makes sense that two Baltic countries should hold the line against Chinese pressure on Tibet. Like Tibet, the Baltic countries have experience struggling to maintain their identity under communist occupation. The elected democratic leader of Tibetan government in exile, Lobsang Sangay, has cited the Baltic countries as a source of inspiration. “‘Did you really believe in the 1980s that you would get back your homeland?’” Mr. Sangay has said he asked friends from the Baltics. “And they said, ‘In our heads, no. In our hearts, yes.’”
