PRESIDENT ATTENDS 9/11 INTERFAITH COMMEMORATION

UNCLAS VILNIUS 000959 SIPDIS STATE FOR R, EUR/PPD - JLOCKARD AND EUR/NB - GNOLL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PREL LH SUBJECT: PRESIDENT ATTENDS 9/11 INTERFAITH COMMEMORATION FOR TERRORISM VICTIMS Ref: State 161551 FIRST-EVER INTERFAITH GATHERING IN LITHUANIA -------------- ¶1. The Embassy helped to organize an interfaith commemoration for the victims of terrorism at a Lutheran church in Vilnius on September 11. The event represented the first large-scale interfaith service ever held in Lithuania, and was covered by all major national media. Leaders from five faiths and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus participated in the program along with Ambassador Mull and his Russian, Spanish, Turkish and British colleagues. The event garnered coverage on all Lithuanian media, especially TV. The event was a major public diplomacy success; we estimate that more than half of the country's citizens saw coverage of the event. End Summary. MULTI-NATIONAL AND MULTI-FAITH PARTICIPATION -------------- ¶2. Post worked with the Vilnius faith community to organize an interfaith service in memory of the victims of terrorism in the four years since September 11, 2001. The Ambassadors of Russia, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. joined Ambassador Mull in inviting the President, diplomatic colleagues, and citizens to attend the service. The Lutheran community offered its church and Catholic, Mormon, Muslim and Orthodox leaders participated in the service. A Jewish rabbi declined to participate but the Jewish community did send a representative to attend the service. The one-hour service included readings and prayers from each cleric and musical performances by a youth choir, a father-and-son trumpet duet, and an organist. President Adamkus and the five Ambassadors resident in Lithuania whose countries have suffered major terrorist attacks since 9/11 presented wreaths. The ceremony's 175 attendees included several other top-level officials, including the Commander of the Armed Forces, and many other members of the diplomatic community, including the Ambassadors of Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Ireland. An as-yet undisclosed amount was collected by the church and will be donated to the International Red Cross/Red Crescent. FULL MEDIA COVERAGE -------------- ¶3. The media gave extensive coverage to the event. All four national TV stations showed their coverage on the Sunday evening news. The most popular station led off its evening newscast with a two-plus minute piece on the interfaith gathering. National radio, internet media, press, and the wire services also covered the event. Media quoted Ambassador Mull talking about the international nature of terrorism and the unity demonstrated by all the nations and faiths represented in the service. President Adamkus spoke of the importance of unity and the symbolism of the interfaith service. ¶4. The media coverage of this post-initiated interfaith gathering reached an estimated two million of Lithuania's 3.5 million people. The coverage emphasized the unique nature of the event and the unity presented by all fronts in remembrance of those who suffered, in rejecting terror and in expressing resolve to combat terror in the future. The gathering also brought together religious figures who do not meet often. MULL