National Defence Committee chair: May 9 event will put law enforcement to the test
The Immortal Regiment march being organized by pro-Kremlin Russian activist Dmitri Linter in Tallinn on May 9 will put Estonian law enforcement bodies to the test, National Defence Committee Chairman Marko Mihkelson stated on on social media.
The Immortal Regiment march the pro-Kremlin Russian activist Dmitri Linter is organizing in Tallinn on May 9 will put Estonian law enforcement bodies to the test, Chairman of the parliamentary National Defense Committee Marko Mihkelson said on social media.
"Our law enforcement forces will have a special role on Monday, as they need to act wisely to prevent provocative situations," said Mihkelson. In his opinion, the Russian media have already launched an information attack.
"Such a preparatory information attack against us hasn't happened in quite some time," said the chairman, referring to a video clip aired on the Vesti channel on Thursday night which claimed that the organizing of this year's Immortal Regiment event in Estonia has been restricted to the extent that the permission to hold it is highly conditional in nature. The aired clip also claimed that the May 9 event must take place within one hour, otherwise it would be classified as an unauthorized demonstration, which means the police would disperse it.
Mihkelson said that such stories do not come about by chance in the Russian media, and that furthermore, Linter's planned march has already been registered with and granted permission by the local authorities.
Throughout the Soviet Union, May 9 is celebrated as Victory Day, a holiday commemorating the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. It continues to be celebrated as such today in Russia and some former territories of the USSR, as well as unofficially in yet other Russian population centers abroad.
The March of the Immortal Regiment (Bessmertny Polk), in which crowds of people carry photographs of Red Army WWII veterans, has been introduced in Russia as a part Victory Day events in recent years.
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik
Source: BNS