President of the Riigikogu: We need to do our utmost to secure international order

The President of the Riigikogu evoked the fact that once upon a time Estonia and other Eastern and Central European nations had fallen victims to the murderous deal between Stalin and Hitler, and that without the criminal Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the tragic deportations would never have happened. Standing at the cenotaph to victims of communism, Hussar said that seeing the name of an ancestor who had been butchered by the red terror carved in the black marble served to alleviate and relieve the grief.

“The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact has been condemned by both the European Parliament and the United States Congress, but I would like to also give credit to those who risked their lives on the Moscow side of the iron curtain to convey information on the national continuity of Estonia under the conditions of occupation,” Hussar said. “This was a constant struggle that eventually united us with the Latvians and Lithuanians —who shared our fate— into the Baltic Way, which was unprecedented in its time and where hundreds of thousands of people demanded an end to the injustice. Ultimately, this took us to our destination.”

Talking about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Hussar said that the Ukrainian nation and armed forces were exerting themselves to defend their independence and sovereignty. “We need to do our utmost to secure democracy and international order, and Ukraine must win and liberate all its territories,” he stressed. “Our determination can help Ukraine gain the victory. This in turn would create a window of opportunities for the birth of democracy in Russia.”

The Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta, British Ambassador Ross Allen, and representatives of the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory and the Estonian Association of Illegally Repressed Persons MEMENTO also spoke at the ceremony in the garden of the Memorial. The programme included a performance by singer Mari Jürjens and a memorial prayer.

The President of the Riigikogu laid a wreath in memory of the victims of totalitarian regimes on behalf of the Estonian nation.

Speech by the President of the Riigikogu (in Estonian)
Photos (Author: Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Video message by the Speakers of Baltic parliaments

Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: President of the Riigikogu: We need to do our utmost to secure international order

Source: Parliament of Estonia