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| Press Releases | | | The President of the Republic continues his tour of Läänemaa19.08.2003
The second day of President Arnold Rüütel's and Mrs Ingrid Rüütel's tour of Läänemaa began in the Rural Municipality of Risti where the President of the Republic laid a wreath at the local Monument to Those Deported or Perished in Exile.
Neeme Suur, Chairman of the Municipality Council, reminded the local people gathered of the history of the Monument. President Rüütel stressed that a people having throughout times lost so many from amongst themselves could win only while sticking together.
The President of the Republic at the Community Centre of Kullamaa met with representatives of the countys local authorities and farmers. The Chairman of the Municipality Council of Kullamaa, Ago Kirsipuu, and some other attendees, too, pointed out that the agriculture had survived largely thanks to fanaticism; the state neither had supported it sufficiently nor protected by law: so, for instance, the sale of land to foreigners had not been banned. That was the reason why less and less young people took up farming.
The local farmers also found that those deciding the fate of rural life had lost touch with reality. The Municipality Mayor of Kullamaa, Einar Pärnpuu, said that the leaders of local government and farmers, therefore, should support the initiative of the President of the Republic to conclude a national agreement and the plan of the Minister of Regional Affairs for changing Estonias administrative organisation.
President Rüütel said that during his present visit to Läänemaa and also during his other county visits he had noticed local people to have a creative approach and the will to put their ideas into practice. "Our membership of the European Union will significantly facilitate all this and, therefore, I don't see any reasonable alternatives to the accession," the President of the Republic said.
President Rüütel called upon the local people to submit their problems, in order to find solutions, to the Presidents Roundtable on Local Government and Regional Development.
The Head of State in the forenoon also visited the AS K-MET, which with its 75 workers is the largest employer in the Rural Municipality of Hanila. Mrs Rüütel called at the Farm of Saueaugu, known for its theatre performances, and the Museum of Hanila.
Office of the President Kadriorg, August 19, 2003
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