Russia Condemns Parliamentary Resolution
The Russian Foreign Ministry has condemned a resolution - honoring resistance to occupying powers - that was adopted by the Estonian Parliament on Tuesday, calling it falsification of history.
“Unfortunately, the desire to embed in public consciousness a myth about the so-called Soviet occupation, and placing an equal sign between fascist Germany and the Soviet Union, which freed Europe from the brown plague, has become an obsession for the officialdom of Tallinn,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
“The Estonian Parliament's resolution, which despite blatant historical facts deliberately falsifies past events - similar to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves's recent recognition of former fascist minions with national decorations - is in conflict with the Estonian side's repeated appeals of the intention to develop good neighborly relations with our country,” Zakharova said.
The ministry did not specify who it considered as “former fascist minions.”
Estonian MPs had said before passing the resolution that they saw no reason why the brief and carefully diplomatic declaration should annoy any other country - meaning Russia.
The text does not mention anyone specifically, such as the Forest Brothers or political prisoners, and it does not define Estonia's heroes based on which side they fought on in World War II. It also takes heed to clearly exclude those guilty of crimes against humanity or war crimes.
With Independence Day drawing near, the purpose of the statement was to pay tribute to those who, despite Nazi or Communist occupations, did not lose faith in the independent Republic of Estonia and the values it represented, and took steps in the name of its restoration.
The following is the full text of the statement:
“On the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia and proceeding from the fact that according to international law, the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia, that was occupied in World War II, was not interrupted,
[Parliament] pays tribute to the citizens of the Republic of Estonia who, in the years of Soviet or Nazi German occupation, acted in the name of de facto restoration of the Republic of Estonia.
[Parliament] condemns the repressive politics of the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany and the activities of the persons who, in the service of these regimes, have committed crimes against humanity, irrespective of their citizenship and location of commitment of these crimes.”
Ott Tammik