Two days before national elections, Estonia's president on Friday accused Russia of failing to confront the "barbarous" legacy of the Soviet Union's occupation of his country.
Estonian-Russian relations have reached a new low over a controversial plan to tear down a World War II monument in Tallinn that honors Soviet soldiers.
"The Russian government claims patrimony for the victory in World War II ... but absolutely denies any connection to that same regime's completely barbarous, heinous acts, crimes against humanity," Ilves, 53, said in an interview.
"I think this is a largely a problem in dealing with history," he said.
The victory over Nazi Germany is a source of profound pride for millions of Russians, and President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed the role of the Soviet army as a liberator of nations that came under Nazi control during World War II. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944, after the Red Army ousted Nazi troops that had invaded three years earlier.
"The Soviet Union did not liberate anybody," Ilves said at the presidential palace in Tallinn. "If you start killing people and deporting them on an industrial scale, is that liberation?"
The US-educated Ilves noted that Russia on Dec. 20 still marks the creation of the first Soviet security agency and predecessor to the KGB, the Cheka.
"On Dec. 20, 2006, Moscow is festooned with banners," said Ilves, who took office last year. "The president of Russia comes and says `Chekists Day.' I think that indicates an inability to really come to terms, or accept, the previous regime's role is not something very good."
He rejected the notion that there was room for different views of the Soviet legacy in the Baltics.
"The fact that 30,000 people in two days were shoved into cattle cars and sent to Siberia is not something that you have open to interpretation," Ilves said, referring to mass deportations of Estonians in March 1949.
Russian officials have warned of "irreversible consequences" in relations between the two neighbors if Estonia acts on plans to remove the Bronze Soldier monument to Soviet soldiers and the war grave below it.
Last month, Ilves vetoed a bill calling for the removal of the statue, which many Estonians consider a bitter reminder of Soviet occupation. The president said the measure violated the constitution, but made clear his move should not be seen as yielding to Russian pressure.
Ilves on Friday said the dispute had been "absurdly blown up," and accused Estonian politicians of using the monument as an instrument to win votes.
He also suggested Russia's reaction was excessive, and said Estonia was not looking for a conflict with its giant neighbor.
"There are 140 million people in Russia. There are 1.3 million in Estonia," Ilves said. "We're not looking to have a fight with them."
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
STILL AFLOAT: Satellite images show that a Chinese ship damaged in a collision earlier this month was under repair on Hainan, but Beijing has not commented on the incident Australia, Canada and the Philippines on Wednesday deployed three warships and aircraft for drills against simulated aerial threats off a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese forces have used risky maneuvers to try to drive away Manila’s aircraft and ships. The Philippine military said the naval drills east of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) were concluded safely, and it did not mention any encounter with China’s coast guard, navy or suspected militia ships, which have been closely guarding the uninhabited fishing atoll off northwestern Philippines for years. Chinese officials did not immediately issue any comment on the naval drills, but they
RSS