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Joint Statement by the President of the Republic, the Chairman of the Riigikogu and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia on National Day of Commemoration, June 14, 200514.06.2005
Dear fellow countrymen!
Today, on the day of mourning and commemoration, we express our deepest esteem to the victims of violence inflicted by totalitarian regime - to people, who have suffered under the terror of a foreign power.
June 14, 1941 the Republic of Estonia lost in the course of one short summer night almost 1 per cent of its population when the Soviet Union deported thousands of innocent people, one third of them being children. By then, the former and active ministers, heads of state and the majority of the members of Parliament had already become victims of terror. The second mass deportation, on March 25, 1949 totally ravaged the Estonian traditional social and village life.
We commemorate our fellow countrymen who were forcibly taken away from their homes and who died a violent death, but also all the other victims of foreign regimes. Direct and indirect repressions of the occupation regime that we experienced even during decades after the end of World War II have touched all Estonian families. They have touched the entire Republic of Estonia.
On National Day of Commemoration we also express our esteem to hundreds of thousands of our fellow countrymen who have kept the front of freedom fighting alive during decades that followed. We honour those who carrying weapons were fighting in the forest. We honour those who passed on the message of freedom hidden between the lines, and all our fellow citizens who remained hopeful and open to those messages for decades. We owe thanks for the singing revolution and the restoration of our independence to those who were carrying on Estonia within themselves while being in Siberian prison camps, or being in exile, or while their souls were in exile either abroad or at home. We own thanks to the people of Estonia who never broke down.
There is no need to look for words on a day of mourning - we commemorate and with today's memorial ceremonies we send a message to the whole democratic world. In this way we might contribute to safer and more secure future.
President of the Republic
Arnold Rüütel
Chairman of the Riigikogu
Ene Ergma
Prime Minister
Andrus Ansip
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