The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOCMF) and the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) held their annual observance of Black Ribbon Day on August 23rd at the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC.

The ceremony recognized the 78th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.  Ambassadors from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Latvia made remarks, all stressing the importance of ensuring that totalitarian regimes never again violate the sovereignty of independent nations.  EANC and the embassies of Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland were also represented, along with dozens of participants from other embassies, organizations, and communities, who gathered to remember the victims of the 1939 pact.  Photo: VOCMF