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Estonia split over Nazi monument ======================= Vahur Lauri in Tallinn Wednesday July 24, 2002 The Guardian An organisation representing Estonian soldiers who supported Hitler during the second world war said yesterday that it would unveil a monument next week to honour them, reviving painful memories of Estonia's past. The prime minister, Siim Kallas, condemned the move, which reflects Estonia's struggle to come to terms with its tragic experience during the 1940s, when the tiny Baltic state was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. Supporters of the monument - featuring a man in an Estonian Waffen SS uniform - say that it is meant to pay tribute to the soldiers' fight to stop Stalin's tyranny by taking up arms with the Nazis on the Russian front. An inscription says it is dedicated "to all Estonian servicemen who died in the second war for the liberation of the fatherland and a free Europe in 1940-1945". The prime minister said that it could tarnish the country's image as it seeks EU and Nato membership this year. "It is regrettable that a monument with such text and strong expression emerged," Mr Kallas told a press conference yesterday. "It will certainly cause a lot of trouble in Estonia and abroad. I don't think government members should attend the opening of this monument." Estonia hopes that Nato's November summit in Prague will bring an invitation for the country to become a member. It is also working to complete EU entry talks by December so that it can join around 2004. The municipal government of Parnu, the site of the monument, is expected to meet this week to consider whether to ban it. An SS insignia had originally been etched into the soldier's helmet, but was subsequently removed. The Nazis occupied Estonia in 1941 after driving out the Soviets, who had invaded the Baltic states the year before in a brutal occupation during which tens of thousands were executed or shipped to Siberian camps. Many in Estonia and neighbouring Latvia and Lithuania welcomed Germans as liberators and were shocked when the Nazis began their own repression and slaughter of Jews. But Nazi hunters say some local people also helped carry out atrocities. Earlier this month the Simon Wiesenthal Centre sent a list of alleged war criminals to Estonian authorities, asking for assistance in tracking them down. The Estonian security police announced yesterday they had found no evidence that the 16 men, former members of a Nazi police battalion, attacked Jews. "The security police have also found that none of the 16 people listed is in Estonia at present," the police said in a statement. When the Soviets began pushing back the Germans, many Estonians volunteered to fight with the Nazis to prevent a second communist occupation. Others were conscripted. Jewish groups and several western governments, including the United States, have urged Estonian officials to investigate Nazi crimes more aggressively and to try any living suspects. "Of course Europeans will not understand us," said Leo Tammiksaar, a history enthusiast and private initiator of the monument. "We made this monument for our soldiers and not for Brussels." Reuters Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
