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The President of the Republic at the Festive Concert on the Occasion of the 82nd Anniversary of the Peace of Tartu, "Estonia" Concert Hall February 2, 200202.02.2002
Honourable Prime Minister,
Honourable Commander of the Defence Forces,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Servicemen,
The Republic of Estonia, born on 24th February 1918, taken up arms exercised its right of self-determination in the War of Liberation. As a result, the Peace Treaty of Tartu was concluded between the then Soviet Russia and the Republic of Estonia, owing to which Estonia, for the first time in modern history, became a subject of international law.
The Peace of Tartu, concluded between the Republic of Estonia and Soviet Russia 82 years ago, ended the Estonian War of Liberation that had lasted for nearly a year and a half. At the end of this war, the Republic of Estonia was in a very hard situation - the Estonian casualties numbering three thousand men killed and nearly fourteen thousand disabled, on top of that, devastations of the war and desolate economy - yet, by that time, Estonia was not even recognized as an independent state.
During its War of Liberation Estonia was supported by volunteers from Finland and Scandinavian countries. There was a British squadron operating in the Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Finland, contributing with its presence to our victory in the war and to the consolidation of our independence. The fact, that Scandinavian volunteers - notably the Finnish volunteers inspired by Finno-Ugric solidarity - participated in the war against the common enemy as comrades-in-arms also helped our men to keep up their fighting spirit. The Peace of Tartu opened the way to international recognition of the Republic of Estonia. As a result of the Peace of Tartu the eastern frontier of Estonia was established.
Soviet Russia signed the Peace of Tartu, first of all, taking account of its military needs. The Russian Government was not strong enough to fight against its border-states and counter-revolutionaries at the same time. As the border-states were backed by the western allied powers, the peace with border-states gained a wider international and political significance. In 1920, the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs Tshitsherin wrote: "the treaty with Estonia became the main test for a settlement with the allied powers, became our first attempt to break through the blockade and live in peace with bourgeois states." The advance of the world revolution was - at least temporarily - stopped.
In 1924 Soviet Russia tried to overthrow the Estonian Government organizing an attempt at insurrection of local Bolshevists and agents sent from Russia. In 1940 the Republic of Estonia was occupied by Soviet Union and we have had to digest the bitter fruits of this act up to this date. The occupation of Estonia in 1940 was a breach not only of the Peace of Tartu but also of international law.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, looking back at the events that occurred 61 and 82 ago, we know, or to be more precise, we guess to know why all this happened. Geopolitics, international relations - everything seems so simple afterwards. It is really easy to be wise afterwards. But we have not gathered here today to just mark a notable day that has become a tradition. Our history places on us the obligation to look forward. Today, we must look into the future to plan our activities in such a way that those events could not recur.
No question about it, a major proportion of the tasks enabling to exclude such a recurrence belong to the area of foreign policy. But it would be a misjudgement to think that foreign policy falls within the scope of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and his ministry or of the President and his team only. It is our shared duty, and I would like to stress here today that it is first and foremost also a duty of the Estonian Defence Forces. For the readiness of the Estonian Defence Forces both to defend Estonia and to be engaged in international co-operation with armed forces of other countries is one of the most essential guarantees for the security of Estonia. And it is not only an affair of the Ministry of Defence or the General Staff of the Defence Forces. It also concerns every officer, every non-commissioned officer and every conscript. It is something that every soldier and every officer must keep in mind all the time, in spite of the routine of life in barracks or of variety of field training exercises.
Estonia has set herself a firm goal to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Today, bearing this goal in mind, we can see that we have not much time left. Only in ten months, in Prague, a decision will be made on taking new members into this security organisation. We only can influence these decisions by our solid accomplishments. We will be evaluated on the basis of our obligations taken fulfilled and our goals set achieved.
It is true, that we are not developing the Estonian Defence Forces only for the purpose of becoming a member of NATO. Yet it would be impossible to develop the Estonian Defence Forces without taking into account the standards of NATO. This has two reasons: the first - the experience NATO disposes of, and the second - following the standards of NATO means ability to work together with armed forces of other nations. Our strength or our weakness depends on our capacity for co-operation.
Dear friends,
I have dealt here with both historical and national as well as military aspects of the Peace of Tartu. But sometimes we could aim higher and think in a more generalizing way, and then we would see that the Peace of Tartu also could be regarded as a peace of Estonia, as a secure environment fostering creativity where every person living in Estonia feels welcome and happy. This would be the kind of the Peace of Tartu Gustav Suits half a century ago has written about in his poem of the same name, praising "cultivation of spirit" and "thirst for wisdom".
I would like to congratulate all of you on the anniversary of the Peace of Tartu and I wish this occasion to be marked not only as the day when the Republic of Estonia got its birth certificate, but also as a day at which we feel obliged to contribute, on our part, to the Peace of Tartu becoming a lasting peace of Estonia.
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