Mihkelson: more cohesion needed in the society
The Chairman of the National Defense Committee of Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson, said that in order to protect Estonia better, there is a need for more awareness and cohesion in the society.
Mihkelson expressed his opinion in the opening address of the conference "Estonian Security 2015: My Contribution", which started on Thursday in Tallinn.
“Modern threats to the security of countries are much more multifaceted than ever before in our history. At the same time, never before has security depended so much on each and every citizen of the state as today. Cyber space and social media alone contain a whole lot of malicious possibilities for manipulation,” Mihkelson said.
Mihkelson underlined that Estonia must invest more than it has done so far into increasing its citizens’ awareness of national defense: “The security of a country can be strengthened on the basis of its citizens in several ways. The ability to use our technological tools more safely already adds a great amount of durability to the security of the whole country.”
Mihkelson said that open and democratic societies are more vulnerable than the authoritarian states, where the media is controlled. “From the last year alone, there are many examples of how simple it has been to create bitter conflicts, unreasonable hatred and discord in the society with the help of media space. These lessons should make us act more wisely and be more preventative. Here, too, each of us can give their contribution, because through the social media, we are all authors of a common narrative,” Mihkelson said.
Mihkelson added that it is worth considering the preparation of the information security strategy for Estonia. The purposes of such a strategy could be strengthening psychological defense and improving strategic communication.
Editor: S. Tambur