SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH ESTONIAN PRESIDENT TOOMAS HENDRIK ILVES

Spiegel.de ^ | June 26, 2007 | Der Spiegel

[bishop22]

SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH ESTONIAN PRESIDENT TOOMAS HENDRIK ILVES 'We Want to Re-Write History' Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves discusses the dispute over the Soviet memorial in Tallinn, why the Nazis were not necessarily worse than the Soviets, and the ethnic Russians plotting against the Estonian state.

Nicole Maskus Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves during his interview with DER SPIEGEL in Berlin. SPIEGEL: Mr. President, no other country has drawn the ire of Russia in recent weeks as much as little Estonia. Russian newspapers have called your country the EU's "fascist backyard," and a mob surrounded your embassy in Moscow. And all this because of the removal of a Soviet war memorial (more...) in the Estonian capital Tallinn?

Ilves: Sometimes we need someone to hate, a concept of an enemy. A year ago it was Latvia, nine months ago they deported hundreds of Georgians from Moscow and searched for schoolchildren with Georgian names, and now it's our turn. Why? The fear is that true

[Parmenio]

President Ilves was in my college class and I have some vague memories of him. At the time (1972), it was inconceivable that Estonia would ever be a free nation again, and that an American citizen would return to Estonia to become its president.

When I get depressed about current events I remember there are greater forces at work that we can’t see, but nevertheless will change the course of the world in ways we can’t imagine.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

Ilves: Yes. One cannot simply extinguish people’s memories in these countries. A common trait among the new EU countries is their pro-American stance, which results from their fear of Russia. It generates great resentment when people who don’t know Russia try to tell people who have experienced Russia at first hand what Russia and the Russians are like.

Bingo.

[pacelvi]

From the same paper:

[Tailgunner Joe]

In the 90’s Russia helped the islamic jihadist Shamil Basayev commit genocide against the Georgians in Abkhazia. Now Russia is renewing its nazi campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians and the Balts are next.