Letter from Tallinn - II

From Mari-Ann Kelam:

NB: Cyber attacks continue. People are reporting that the websites of the President of Estonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the newspaper Postimees are down. A group of youth have gathered at the Estonian Embassy in Moscow again. A tent city was set up near Narva on the Estonian-Russian border. The young people there seem intent on blockiing traffic. EU Representation in Moscow has been put under increased security. News reports keep coming that a number of Russian market chains have stopped stocking and selling goods produced in Estonia - I have no idea how significant this may or may not be as I do not have information as to what and how much these chains bought and sold. Also I do not know how large these enterprises themselves might be.

The picketing at the Estonian Embassy has been discontinued, quite certainly in response to international criticism. It may be that Russia is now resorting to less visible forms of pressure on Estonia - cyber, economic, transportation, etc - which they hope will bring less attention and criticism. Calls for the violent overthrow of the Estonian government continue to circulate via mobile phones and internet. The security police seem to have this well in hand.

The streets of Tallinn are peaceful and it is reassuring to see lots of policemen patrolling on foot - they look professional and not at all negatively intimidating with their yellow reflector vests. Only about 300 people, mostly Russian-speaking, attended Center Party’s forum today according to radio reports.

Minister of Education Tonis Lukas met this week with the history teachers in the 28 Russian schools in Tallinn. A few of them commented positively on the meeting on the TV news, but it was clear that most of them do not themselves speak Estonian. Many of them have been teaching for twenty to thirty years - Estonia’s independence was restored 16 years ago.

Thank you, everyone who is concerned and helping. It is making a difference! Please continue to circulate information, write letters to the editor, comment on blogs, contact your elected officials. And do not forget to pray! Hoia, Jumal Eestit. As the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament put it - “call on the Russian authorities to fulfil their international obligations according to the Vienna Convention and guarantee the protection of the EU Member States Embassies in Moscow and refrain from any interference in the internal affairs in Estonia.”

MAK

See also in this blog: Letter from Tallinn