Ilves: internal security too stretched
Although it is part of the wider defense realm of Estonia, internal security has become underfunded, says President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
“The state has allowed the internal security sphere to become too thin,” Ilves said, “The outer shell or military defense, of state defense, looked at from a holistic perspective, is strong thanks to our own actions, to the support of our allies and also thanks to a general will to defend, but the internal part – internal security – is currently softer and quick solutions must be found to increase finances and other resources,” Ilves said at a National Defense Council meeting.
He said it is not only a question of security, but our obligation to Estonia's loyal police officers, boarder guards and rescue workers.
Ilves also spoke about racism, saying that the growth of xenophobic feelings have the power to dissolve much of Estonia's good international standing.
The National Defense Council is an advisory board to the president and it includes the Parliament Speaker, the PM, the chairmen of the Parliament committees on national defense and foreign affairs, Chief of Defense, and the foreign, defense, finance, interior and justice ministers.
Editor: J.M. Laats