Dear fellow countrymen!
Excellencies and guests!
Members of the Defence forces!

The ancient Midsummer bonfire of the Nordic peoples is the Victory Flame of the Republic of Estonia. Today, on Victory Day, we send the fire to the counties and parishes of Estonia from the city of Valga on the Latvian border. Here, some tens of kilometres southward, near the city of Cesis, or Võnnu in Estonian, the Estonian defence forces gained a victory over the enemy troops eighty years ago - this victory came to be a breakthrough in the whole War of Liberty. But the victory we gained over our own hesitations and uncertainty was even greater. From this, I have derived the two most important messages of Victory Day.

First: the two forces that stood face to face were not equal. The generals facing each other were equal, as to arms, these of the enemy's were superior to ours. According to the estimates of the strategists, the battle could have ended with a tie. And yet it ended with an overwhelming victory of the Estonian and Latvian defence forces, and brought freedom also to the city of Riga. How can we explain this? There is one explanation, and one only. In the battlefield, it is not the superiority of men or arms that brings the victory. In the battlefield, victory is first and foremost won by morale. It is the will to defend one's country, home, and family that wins the battle. It is the people who support their defence forces that win the battle. It is the defence forces who know what they are fighting for, and know how to fight their battle. In brief, it is the will and the skill that wins the battle. No nation with the will to defend is too small to defend their country successfully. Let this be said today, in full clarity, to all those who try to calculate the price of freedom, independence and democracy on an abacus.

My second message on this Victory Day derives from the first one. The victory may be glorious, but it can never be attained without victims. The security that prevents conflicts and spares the victims is dearer and more valuable than any victory. For this, unfortunately, the time has not come yet, neither in the world nor in Europe, as the recent expulsion of the Albanians from Kosovo has proved. The danger of conflict first and foremost affects the regions where the principles of today confront those of the past, where the democratic systems are confronted by the totalitarian ones, and where the will of free people to build their own state and live within their own language and culture is confronted with imperial incentives. The Republic of Estonia has been successful in expressing this will to the whole world. Today, it will be five years from the day when the last of the Soviet troops left our country and also Germany. Estonia has been successful in reforming her economy, and although this process is far from complete today, it has still placed our home country among the most successful transition countries. The democratic world has recognised Estonia's decision to integrate to the all-European economic and defence structures and assume the responsibility, according to her abilities, for the stable development and upholding the rule of law in Europe.

These important achievements have added to Estonia's self-confidence. Estonia has powerfully demonstrated her readiness to develop relations with Russia on the basis of international law, equality and mutual benefit. Estonia has not felt threatened by the statements of some Russian extremist politicians who say that "all the territories conquered by Peter the Great and Catherine shall fall back under Russian administration" - to quote just one of the number of such politicians. Neither do our eastern neighbour's military manoeuvres that were recently begun in the North-western part of Russia disturb the work of our state. Our self-confidence and will to co-operate have a strong basis: as a state and as a nation, we have been able to display our will to defend, we have done this in a convincing, friendly and dignified manner. I have no doubt that the next century shall be the century of democratic Russia, who has close contacts with Estonia as a member of the European Union. But to reach this point we must, developing our defence forces, create the situation that would exclude imperial incentives. They belong to the lumber-rooms of the past. Security risk is like a forest fire on a hot summer. It is easier to avoid than to extinguish. But the men and the tools should still be in readiness. I appreciate highly the opening of the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, and the agreement of the major parties of the Riigikogu to allocate 2% of the state budget to the defence expenditure. At the same time, the elaboration of our defence structures and the improvement of their training will continue.

Dear fellow countrymen, on this Victory Day I spoke of Estonia's will to defend and our security policy. I can assure you with all my responsibility that never during her long history, including the ancient times of the Hanseatic League, has Estonia been so deeply involved in the co-operation for guaranteeing peace and stability in Northern Europe. All our neighbouring countries, as well as our partner states in the democratic world, are well aware of this. The deal concluded in the Kremlin sixty years ago will never again become a reality. All our history concentrates around the idea of the independent Estonian State. We must be able to defend it. We must be able to defend our principles and the common values of Europe.

In the name of the Republic of Estonia, I congratulate our veterans of the War of Liberty, whose will to defend sets an example to our defence forces today and to the generations of the future.

Long live the Flame of Victory!

Hooray!
Hooray!
Hooray!

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