Atkurtos Lietuvos sienos : sėkmės istorija

LTAnksčiau sienas teko ginti ginklu, o sienų sutartys liudijo šalių karinio potencialo pusiausvyrą. Po 1990 metų kovo 11-osios sienas pavyko nustatyti diplomatinėmis priemonėmis. Autorius Zenonas Kumetaitis, aktyviai dalyvavęs atkuriant ir nustatant Lietuvos sienas 1990-2015 metais, knygoje atskleisdamas įdomias ir nepublikuotas permainingų derybų detales, rašo nesenų laikų istoriją. Ją neabejotinai galime pavadinti mūsų šalies sėkmės istorija. Delimituota valstybės siena su Baltarusija, kurios niekada neturėjome, išsiderėta nemaža dalis Vištyčio ežero, kurio nuo Melno sutarties laikų turėjome tik įlankos ties gyvenviete dalį. Gilinantis į Lietuvos ir Lenkijos sienos susidarymo aplinkybes, jos ištakas pavyko aptikti Jaltos ir Potsdamo konferencijų dokumentuose, o Lietuvos sienos taškas piečiau Vištyčio ežero tapo išeities tašku "parceliuojant" Rytprūsių teritoriją. Derybas dėl jūrinės akvatorijos delimitavimo komplikavo „nepalanki“ Lietuvos kranto konfigūracija. Tai buvo iššūkis derybininkams. Nepaisant politikų spaudimo užbaigti derybas, komisija neabejojo, kad priešais Lietuvą yra Švedija, ir, nors Ženevos konvencijos metodai nenumatė tokios galimybės, siekė bendros jūros sienos su šia valstybe. Derybose pavyko susitarti vadovautis dar neįsigaliojusia Jūrų teisės konvencija, kurios nuostatos buvo liberalesnės. Kad dabar turime jūrinę sieną su Švedija, yra bene didžiausias Lietuvos derybininkų pasiekimas. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Valstybės sienos; Sienų istorija; Lietuvos sienos; Lietuvos valstybės teritorija; Žemėlapiai; Borders history; The Map; Lithuanian borders; Territory of Lithuanian state; Maps.

ENThere are many stories about the history of Lithuania and Lithuanian people, both based on myths and historical documents as well as facts. Since we had not had our writing for a long time, it is often travellers, chroniclers, monks, military leaders, and political figures in neighbouring (or not only) countries who are often the first to tell about our history. The first who quite accurately and realistically depicted Central and Eastern Europe with its inhabitants - an unknown barbarian country at that time - where tribes cognate to us might have lived, their lifestyles, climate and major rivers was the historian, geographer and traveller Herodotus (484-425 B.C.). This historical angle is relevant for us and worth mentioning, as the borders in this geographical area were already unequivocally and explicitly mentioned in Herodotus writings: "When the Agaphyrs found out that the Scythians were planning to invade their lands, they sent their messengers to pass the ban on the Scythians, otherwise, the Scythians would have to withstand a deadly battle with them. Following this warning, the Agaphyrs mobilized troops at their borders to counter the attack". Only one and a half millennia after the events described by Herodotus, we find the name of Lithuania mentioned for the first time, where my attention was drawn by no less important place of this event - written sources state that the tragic death of the monk Bruno occurred on the Lithuanian-Russian (according to other sources - Prussian) border. The most relevant word for us - border - perhaps leads to the important conclusion that already at that time the borders of Lithuania were known not only to the monks, but also they were defended by the local people against foreigners.From the centuries-old nebulous record of the Bruno mission on the LithuanianRussian border, from the measurements of the border by astrolabs to state-of-the-art Global Positioning technologies; from the great period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to three divisions, from the occupations to the restoration of the state - such was the long and winding path of the Lithuanian state and its borders. After Lithuania regained its independence, the Supreme Council - the Reconstituent Seimas, aiming to establish the main attributes of a sovereign state, paid great attention to legal and physical protection of the state territory, which was impossible without bilateral border treaties with neighbouring states. Legally established state borders are evidence of normalized relations with neighbouring states and they give impetus to further productive international cooperation. Realizing that a number of conflicts among states are caused by borders or territories of undefined status, the Supreme Council already in July 1990 adopted a decision to establish a commission for border restoration. Favoured by historical circumstances and fate, I had the honour and responsibility to participate in the reconstruction and delimitation of the Lithuanian borders between 1990 and 2015, when I served as a chairman or vice-chairman of the commissions of the state land and maritime borders, delimitation and demarcation of their intersections. This book is not a scientific or historical study, but rather an interpretation of the author’s, who is a non-historian, state boundary-related historical material, as well as documented recollections and observations of long-term involvement in the negotiation process without going into too much detail on the minor technical details of negotiation and border marking.In the book, in a popular form, I tried to convey the key moments of the delimitation and demarcation negotiations of the Lithuanian borders after 1 9 9 0 , as well as the circumstances of the formation of these borders since the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. I tried to give a brief summary of the negotiations with all the neighbouring countries, the major disagreements arising during that period, the problematic sections, and the motives and arguments of one or another decision-making, and to illustrate them with graphical material. Without a deeper understanding of the peculiarities of the work in this field, it may seem that it is a monotonous and routine activity repeating itself on every border, however it is a false impression. State borders with individual states had their own specifics in political, legal, technical and other respects, and accordingly different solutions. Obviously, the issue of border demarcation is also a historical event for the state, as a result, during the negotiations as well as in the process of writing the book, it was inevitable to examine the history of the formation of Lithuanian borders with neighbouring countries. [...]. [Extract, p. 179-180]