Not to worry Mr.Marx, I am smart enough and powerful enough to make it work this time.
Posted on 12/02/2007 7:02:52 AM PST by JACKRUSSELL
Mart Laar, two-time Prime Minister of Estonia, has been credited with lifting the small Baltic nation out of economic and social collapse under communism to becoming a prosperous, free society.
Currently a member of the Estonian Parliament, Laar first became Prime Minister of Estonia at age 32. During his tenure from 1992-1994, he initiated sweeping economic reforms that included unilateral free trade, privatization, and the introduction of the world's first flat tax.
Laar was re-elected in 1999 and served until 2002. Known as the Baltic Tiger, in the past two decades Estonia has experienced unprecedented economic growth and has dramatically reduced poverty and inequality. It is also a leader in technology development, and is the home of the Internet phone service, Skype.
In a recent interview with Epoch Times reporter and NTDTV correspondent Cathy Liu, Laar talked about the violent nature of communism and the lack of human rights in China, the world's largest communist state.
NTDTV: Why is it that people have suffered so much under communism?
Laar: From 1940 on, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union, so I was born in an occupied country, a communist country, which meant for us total destruction. We lost nearly 20 per cent of our population as a result of the occupation. Our economy and our environment were destroyed after this. We gained our independence in 1991, and I was one of the first prime ministers of the free Estonia.
Totalitarian systems are based on fear and violence. With communism there is always killing, there is always injustice, there is always violence. Communism is against human nature and is a system that is not good for human beings.
Communism has been a failure in all areas of life and to understand it, one must compare communist countries with non-communist countries and see how fast they have moved and how slowly communist countries have moved. There's a very clear difference.
NTDTV: The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) has initiated a worldwide Human Rights Torch Relay to raise awareness about China's human rights record in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Do you think it can help bring about change?
Laar: I think it's necessary to have an event like this torch relay to really remind the world that the Olympics were allocated to China only with the promise that China would improve its human rights. Frankly, this hasn't happened.
In 1936, when Nazi Germany hosted the Olympics, there wasn't much protest in the world or any attempts to raise awareness of what was going on there. So I think the torch relay and its related events are very important because they really make it clear that these Olympics are being held in a country that is still communist, where innocent people are hunted and arrested, where there is no religious freedom, and where there is huge social inequality and problems with the environment.
This means that this is a country that needs our attention, and the people who are fighting for freedom and for human rights need our support. The question of different atrocities must be raised. The Communist Party is an evil force.
We must remember what has happened to China. This beautiful culture, a country with such a rich culture and history, how much of it was destroyed during communist rule—it's really one of the greatest destructions that has taken place in human civilization.
NTDTV: There's a report called "Bloody Harvest" compiled by two Canadians detailing the theft of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners to supply China's lucrative organ transplant industry. Some people find this so horrifying they don't want to believe it's true. What do you say to them?
Laar: I remember this very well when I lived under communism. It was very sad to see how the world even then ignored the same question. They said "No, no, it's overestimated, it couldn't be so bad. Such evil doesn't exist." How many people believed that the concentration camps and the holocaust existed?
I remember very well how we hoped that somebody would raise their voice in the free world to really say loudly what is happening in the Soviet communist system. We were not listened to, we were not heard for a long time.
Ronald Reagan was heavily criticized in the west when he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire." But for us it was a very positive message, and it was enormously important in encouraging people to initiate action against the dictatorship.
NTDTV: NTDTV broadcasts in China. What would you say to the Chinese people who are living under the repressive communist system?
Laar: I would tell them to have no fear. They [the Communist Party] want to make you afraid, but actually they are more scared than you. Those at the top understand that their time is coming to an end.
Once fear goes away, it changes faster than you can imagine. In Eastern Europe I have seen how the same people in one week marched in a communist demonstration, and the next week marched against the communists. In the former communist bloc countries, these changes happened faster than anybody expected them to happen. It's a miraculous feeling.
I think the time is coming when the people of China can be more happy and secure, where they will be able to have their own beliefs, their own religion, their own culture. This is enormously important.
The level of destruction that occurred in China under communist rule has been terrible. But I think that the Chinese people are strong enough to overcome even this sad period in history.
It is the obligation of countries that have broken away from communism and people in the free world to give support to those who still live under communist rule.
I hope awareness of the atrocities occurring in communist countries continues to grow, because when we ignore this it's dangerous and bad for the entire free world.
“Totalitarian systems are based on fear and violence. With communism there is always killing, there is always injustice, there is always violence. Communism is against human nature and is a system that is not good for human beings.”
Those who consider voting for Hillary, take note.
He should have a long talk with Hillary Clinton.
When we buy “made in China,” it’s an investment in a whole way of life. Or should I say death.
... “the theft of organs from living” ...
I've long suspected that the collapse of the dysfunctional economic systems in eastern Europe in the last 20 years was primarily the result of an inter-generational conflict, not an purely economic one. We're likely to see the same kind of scenario unfold here in the U.S. over the next few decades.
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