Herkel: Estonia is threatened by Russian aggression, not asylum seekers
Estonia's top security concern continues to be Russian Federation aggression, not asylum seekers, Free Party Chairman Andres Herkel said.
He said that the events around the asylum seeker accommodation center in the village of Vao in Lääne-Viru County, have crossed the lines of reason and the first signs of extremism have appeared. He added that the shift in focus from the real threat to Estonia's security to a handful of asylum seekers is not in Estonia's interests.
“It is in the interest of those who wish to destabilize Estonia, increase mistrust towards our Western partners and European values. It is in the interest of the so called internet trolls, who overflow internet comment sections with negativity and hate speeches. There has to be a limit to fostering mistrust towards everyone and everything,” Herkel said.
“Estonia has been a fairly tolerant society, but demanding marriage rights for same-sex couples or taking in asylum seekers more than we can handle could easily dislodge that fragile balance,” he added.
At the beginning of July, around 360 motorcycles drove to Vao in what they said was a non-political and non-racist protest to support the local population of Vao. The representatives of the event said they support the locals in their bid to stop the expansion of the accommodation center to beyond 35-capacity.
The asylum seekers staying at the center were taken for a day-trip during the protest, which lasted for a few hours in the village.
Editor: J.M. Laats