President Lennart Meri yesterday sent a greeting address to the conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of the re-foundation of the Defence League at Järvakandi. The Supreme Commander of the National Defence thanked the Defence League for giving attention to the youth.

The President wrote that within the time that has passed from the restoration of the Republic of Estonia, our responsibility to our State has grown step by step. ''Today, we create the basis for what is going to determine our life in the future: education, economy, political culture, bearings of the national defence, integrity,'' President Meri wrote.

In his greeting address, the President wrote that that the continuity of the national defence is a matter we all should attend to, especially young people who have finished school and grown up, and for whom the need for national defence must become self-evident. ''The will to defend must be in every young person's heart,'' the Supreme Commander of National Defence wrote. As he said, our Defence Forces and moreover, our Defence League, must foster and nurture that will.

The President emphasised that we can look firmly into the future, if the members of the Estonian Defence Forces, and the Defence Leaguers have a good training, are educated, and set an example for others both in great matters and in everyday life.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, February 18, 2000

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