MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

21.5.2007

to wind up the debate on statements by the Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Jan Marinus Wiersma, Hannes Swoboda and Andres Tarand
on behalf of the PSE Group
on Estonia

B6‑0205/2007

European Parliament resolution on Estonia

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the EU Presidency Statement of 2 May 2007 on the situation in front of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow,

–  having regard to the numerous statements of support for Estonia issued by EU governments,

–  having regard to the statement by its President, Hans-Gert Pöttering, and the 9 May 2007 debate in plenary,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas in the capital of Estonia and in parts of north-east Estonia, between 26 and 28 April 2007, demonstrators protesting against the Estonian Government's plan to relocate the Soviet 'monument to the liberators of Tallinn' from the centre of the Estonian capital to a military cemetery a few kilometres away were responsible for two nights of violence, which started with demonstrators attacking the police and resulted in widespread vandalism in the centre of Tallinn,

B.  whereas the vandalism had nothing to do with the widely accepted need to honour the memory of the victims of World War II, and whereas the looters were not united by nationality, but by the will to act violently and to loot,

C.   whereas the exhumations were conducted in strict compliance with international standards and rules of dignified conduct, and whereas the monument will be reopened in the cemetery with an official ceremony to be attended by anti-Hitler coalition representatives,

D.  whereas the violent demonstrations and attacks against law and order were actively organised and assisted by forces located outside Estonia,

E.  whereas several high-level declarations have been issued in Russia, including an official statement by the State Duma delegation on its visit to Tallinn calling on the Estonian Government to step down,

F.  whereas, immediately after the riots in Tallinn, the normal functioning of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow was blocked for seven days by hostile demonstrators from the Russian pro-government youth organisation 'Nashi', resulting in physical attacks against the Estonian and Swedish Ambassadors, threats to demolish the embassy building, the tearing down of the Estonian flag on embassy territory and the labelling of Estonia as a 'fascist' country,

G.  whereas systematic cyber-attacks have been organised, mostly from outside Estonia, in an attempt to block official communication lines and Estonian administration websites, whereas those attacks have come from Russian administration IP addresses, and whereas intensive propaganda attacks have continued via the Internet and mobile telephone messages calling for armed resistance and further violence,

H.  whereas, only a few days after the events in Tallinn, wide-ranging restrictions on Estonian exports to Russia have been introduced, with Russian companies suspending contracts with Estonian firms, Estonia's energy supplies being threatened, and the Estonia-St Petersburg train connection being suspended from the end of June,

I.  whereas the Russian authorities, including the State Duma delegation, have unfortunately refused to enter into dialogue with the Estonian authorities and declined even to participate in a joint press conference at the Foreign Ministry,

J.  whereas the events were further fuelled by misinformation issued by Russian media channels, provoking further protests,

1.  Expresses its support for and solidarity with the democratically elected Estonian Government in its efforts to guarantee order and stability as well as the rule of law for all residents of Estonia;

2.  Regards as unacceptable the various attempts by the Russian authorities to interfere in the internal affairs of Estonia (such as calls for the resignation of the Estonian Government);

3.  Is alarmed at the scandalously inadequate protection of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow by the Russian authorities and at the physical attacks against the Estonian Ambassador by the 'Nashi' demonstrators; calls on the Russian Government to observe without exception the Vienna Convention on the Protection of Diplomats;

4.  Condemns the attempts by Russia to use economic pressure on Estonia as an instrument of foreign policy and calls on the Russian Government to restore normal economic relations between the two states;

5.  Reminds the Russian authorities that the indiscriminate and openly hostile rhetoric employed by the Russian authorities against Estonia is sharply at odds with the principles of international behaviour and will have an impact on EU-Russia relations as a whole;

6.  Calls on the Russian Government to engage in an open and unbiased dialogue with the Eastern and Central European democracies on the history of the 20th century and the crimes committed then against humanity, including by totalitarian Communism;

7.  Welcomes the call made by the Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who underlined that people who came to Estonia in Soviet times and live now in the Republic of Estonia, as well as their children and grandchildren, are all Estonians; all Estonians of whatever origin have their own, very painful experience of life under three consecutive occupying powers in the last century; there is a need to be able to see and understand the tragedies of others; for that purpose, the inner-Estonian dialogue must be enhanced to bridge existing gaps between the different communities and to create new opportunities to integrate Russian-speaking Estonians in particular;

8.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Parliament and Government of the Estonian Republic.