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President of the Republic on the 81st Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia in the Estonia Theatre Hall, February 24, 1999
24.02.1999

Dear compatriots in Estonia and all over the world,

Dear Guests and Excellencies!

Allow me to thank you all for the good wishes that have arrived from near and afar on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Republic of Estonia. Also, I would like to congratulate all of you on our common holiday!

This is the last time for us to celebrate the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia on this century, the last time before the regular elections of the Riigikogu. Last year, on our eightieth birthday, I took a look at the past in my speech and tried to assess the difficulties that darkened our way to the restoration of our state and our economy after the long period of occupation. Today, I would like to use another angle of approach and speak of where we stand, where stand today, at the point where future turns into past and the Estonian past experience shapes the future.

Therefore, allow me first to speak of the continuity of our foreign policy. We have set ourselves the goals of accession to the European Union and NATO, whereas developing good relations with the Russian Federation.

Last year was a year of breakthrough in the relations between the Republic of Estonia and the European Union. We have received the report of how we look to the democratic eyes of Europe. This report can be read on my homepage. The sorest point of Estonia's otherwise brave progress is our still insufficient power to uphold the rule of law. It is not easy for us to free ourselves from the heavy inheritance of the Russian times: the majority of lawyers and judges as well as their thinking come from the totalitarian system, which did not know the principles of the rule of law. And it is not easy to banish this fear of the rule of law that sits deep in our judges. Therefore, it should be emphasised again and again that the Republic of Estonia, celebrating her 81st anniversary today, did not restore her independence in 1991 by adjusting the Soviet system. We did not just replace labels. What I want to stress is that we have restored our state on the basis of legal continuity. In this sense, the Supreme Council was a practical lever to operate at the time, but the Committees of the Estonian Citizens were the legal basis, the foundation that supported the lever. This, and precisely this was the way how the Estonian people regained their independence. Through these two sides we established our life on the basis of the constitution proceeding from the rule of law, on the basis from which we must proceed now in every day of our life. I would like to extend my words of recognition to the Committees of the Estonian Citizens that convened ten years ago, and to thank the Eighth Riigikogu whose mandate is going to end in a few days' time. Our eighth Parliament has passed 562 legal acts, including many important acts based on the European legislation.

The years have passed quickly, and our accession to the European Union is no longer a distant dream. How will the Estonian economy manage in the environment of international competition? How can we attract the financial resources so necessary for the development of our economy? Looking at Estonia not with the loving eye of a romantic nationalist but with the cold and calculating eye of a foreign investor, what attractions do we see? And how many foreign markets looking for the Estonian products do we know, even if we don't know what exactly they are looking for? We need the resourceful and efficient foreign economic policy of Finland, Ireland, Denmark, and many others, a policy that would not betray our hopes even at the time when the greatest of our current assets, the low salaries and production costs, will gradually disappear. The warning signs are already there. The still unnoticeable increase of unemployment bespeaks of the need to act, not to rest on the laurels. There is no rest in global economy. If we are ahead of the others today, we may be lagging behind tomorrow.

Estonia's second foreign policy priority is connected with the enlargement of NATO. This is a historic opportunity that would connect our security to the great democratic powers of the West, such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, and such states as Poland, Denmark or Norway. An attack or threat to our security would mean an attack or threat against them. Such crucial moments are rare in history. And the Estonian people have always managed to recognise them and take advantage of them. I know we have made great efforts. I know what further effort our aspiration towards the European Union requires. Still, I invite the people of Estonia to manifest their will powerfully regarding Estonia's accession to NATO. We need a clear programme, both on the governmental level and for the public, in order to make full use of this opportunity so important to the future of the Estonian people. Above all, we need a clear understanding of what we ourselves have to offer to the joint defence and security of Europe.

At the end of last year, I sent a letter to all the parties of the Riigikogu, urging them to come to agreement in terms of national defence. The objective of this agreement would be the gradual increase of defence expenditure to 2% of the gross domestic product. This is not an end in itself. This is an actual demonstration of the will of the Estonian politicians - and through this, the will of the whole nation - to increase the defence expenditure in order to ensure the means for the accomplishment of our national defence policy objectives. There is no sense in having defence forces who lack the means to defend the nation. In 1997, the average defence expenditure of the European NATO members was 2.2% of the GNP. The level of our defence expenditure is a measure of our readiness to accede to the North Atlantic Alliance. This shows the commitment of the politicians and the nation to this important objective of the Estonian foreign policy. It would be a difficult task to defend Estonia without foreign assistance, therefore it is our national interest to accede sooner, not later, in order to secure the future of our people. The door to NATO is open now, this is what the NATO officials say. There is no point in delaying, in risking this door to close. The overwhelming majority of the parties represented in the Riigikogu or running for the elections have written to me and given their principal consent to increase the national defence expenditure to 2% of the GDP for the year 2002, which means an annual raise of at least 0.2%. In my letter, I urged our politicians to proceed from the principle that defence expenditure should not be submitted to bargaining between parties. In their replies, the parties have stressed the significance of the national defence issues and accepted that those are not issues to be bargained over in the course of the election campaigns. Just as the continuity of the Estonian State and her citizens can not be bargained over. The clear responses of the parties have persuaded me to invite the parties to conclude an agreement after the Riigikogu elections, which would guarantee the increase of the defence expenditure to 2% of our GDP within the next four years. It is, of course, vital that such clause be included in the coalition agreement of the new government coalition. Yet it is even more vital to reach consensus with the future opposition, which would lead to an agreement in national defence matters, not unlike the experience of our Danish friends, and show the whole world Estonia's resolve to defend her independence.

Secondly. Two weeks remain to the elections of the new Riigikogu. I wish to stress that participation in the elections is the most powerful means for a citizen to forge the fate of the State and the Government, to say nothing of his own. Those who confine themselves to criticism instead of participating in the elections should ask themselves: why was criticism, at least to a certain extent, tolerated in the Russian times, whereas there was never a possibility of real elections? If no party is 100% acceptable, let us elect the one whose policies seem most advantageous to the progress of Estonia. Let us remember, that in a democratic country it is the citizens who decide the development of the society, and it is the people who know the solutions, not the political bureau or the party secretary. March 7 is the day when we will speak our mind. I would like to remind especially the young electors that on that day we have more power in our hands than is concealed in any ministerial portfolio.

Also, I would like to warn you of the politicians using authoritarian and undemocratic means. The changing times have sown uncertainty in the minds of people. They seek encouragement in strict rule and sweet promises. The authoritarian politicians take advantage of this, but have no real confidence in the people or even their own party members, they are first and foremost driven by their craving for power. Such politicians would make trouble in both the foreign and domestic policy of Estonia. How to recognise them? I will repeat what I said when declaring the elections: judge the politicians by their deeds, not by their words.

On March 7, you will elect a Riigikogu that will take Estonia to the new century. Depending on your preferences, you will choose between two different forces, two different paths of development, of which only one will be successful in today's world. This choice is not without significance. On the contrary, the choice you make is vital to you and your children, to you and your parents, especially to those who still remember the pre-war Estonia. Do not lull yourselves with stories that you know nothing about politics and that nothing really depends on you. This choice is yours to make. Use your vote with due discretion. Later, it will be too late.

Thirdly. We are the only Estonian State in the world. The only one where the Estonian language is spoken and where we think our thoughts in this tongue. Estonians should not be ashamed of being Estonians. It is wrong to be ashamed of Estonianness, of the Estonian names, of the Estonian culture. It is just as wrong to be ashamed of one's country. During the occupation, the legal continuity of the Republic of Estonia was maintained by our exiles, and our cultural continuity was upheld by our intellectuals. In the democratic world, the Republic of Estonia continued to exist as a legal principle. Let me remind you that the idea of Estonia as a sovereign country was first expressed by a Frenchman already in the middle of the last century.

Now the Republic of Estonia is in our hands again. We no longer have political exiles. I dare say that the time for the economic exile that damages our reputation should also be over soon. On the condition that Estonia will be able to retain the current economic activity and not to undermine the economic policy principles supporting her success, which have been working well. I mean the Estonian kroon, our tax system, the economic orientation towards and integration with the West, I mean our flexibility - which is due to our small size - as concerns new technology, especially information technology. The world has recognised Estonia as a wise reformer. In God's name, we can be proud of ourselves that Estonia has been pointed out as an example to several states that have re-emerged from behind the iron curtain like ourselves. But let us ask ourselves - which reforms have been completed today, and which reforms are still under way?

Our sovereign statehood has functioned for seven years now, and functioned well in general, but we must not and will not close our eyes to our shortcomings. The local government system, where unwarranted embezzling and duplication of power still occur, needs reforming. Strict control should be established over the state purchases and procurements. In this area too, there is too much waste and selfishness. The ministries and other state institutions should be regarded with a watchful eye: could their work not be more productive, could the rank growth of the government apparatus not be restrained? Do not misunderstand me: I am grateful to the state officials who work honestly and with due sense of responsibility. They are the guardians of the Estonian independence. But they act for the people's money. And this is a great responsibility for all of them.

Seven years ago, we made a good start. Was this not so because in order to counterbalance the political curtain isolating us from the West, we had built our own, cultural curtain to separate us from the East?

It is furthermore vital to emphasise that the integration of national minorities is indispensable for the internal functioning of Estonia. Some have arrived at this understanding through the heart, some through reasoning and some through anger. Attaining a result satisfactory to everybody will still take time, but we can even now appreciate the peacefulness and stability of the Estonian society. The other day, I promulgated a law declaring March 14, the birthday of Kristjan Jaak Peterson, the Mother Tongue Day. This language policy act of the Riigikogu has a symbolic weight: the poet's mother was Russian, and yet Kristjan Jaak Peterson was the first to voice the Estonian language's right to perpetuity. One national language, many mother tongues, is the political content of this Riigikogu act.

Estonia respects all the languages of her national minorities, but the affairs of the State shall be conducted in Estonian. For decades, a foreign administration has arranged our affairs in a foreign language. The Estonians just had to see if they could manage in spite of the alien administration. We have deceived, undermined and condemned the foreign administration, and mastered this well. We have enviable experience in subversive activities, but our experience of governing and upholding the State is regrettably brief, and this goes both for politicians and other Estonian citizens both at home and abroad.

This is also the source of our mistakes. If we are brave enough to call a mistake a mistake, we are also able to learn from our mistakes. But it is also a mistake to learn from mistakes only. For the more efficient functioning of Estonia, it is necessary to balance our regional policy. We must realise that there is life also outside Tallinn, that Estonia is not a polis, but a full-fledged republic - our governments must learn this simple truth as soon as they can. The longer the delay in finding out the truth, the higher the price to pay. Honesty and enterprise, farmsteads and primary schools, bank offices and shops are much cheaper to keep than to build from scratch.

The future of Estonia and the fate of our children commits us to learn to govern our State in a way becoming a European state upholding the rule of law. We can be harmed by our lack of modern knowledge about ruling the society, especially about ruling the State. A great deal of problems, a much greater deal than we can imagine, arise not from malevolence, but from ignorance and lack of education. This concerns the administration of the State as well as the administration of many enterprises. I recommend the economists to read the report on the Eesti Maapank by the Danish expert Eigil Mølgaard. His conclusions concerning the insufficient quality of general management can also be extended to several other areas of life. Lack of experience, superficiality or stupidity can not be an excuse in our country. Estonia's development means constant learning. We must clearly and pragmatically admit that we need experts whose level of knowledge would be acceptable to the whole world in such fields as international law, international financial institutions, global information technology, environmental requirements or labour legislation of the European Union. Otherwise we will be completely at the mercy of foreign advisors in such cases as the boycott of the Estonian ships or the privatisation of the Estonian Telecom. And this could be harmful to Estonia.

There is one important skill we have not learned in ten years - the ability to talk to the people. A minister talks to the politicians, not to the people. But the people want to hear him. Only the election struggle has forced the politicians to talk to the people, although mostly of the domestic affairs. The objectives of the Estonian foreign policy have never been explained to our people. And the anti-Estonian propaganda could take advantage of this situation.

Many people are still left to deal with their problems alone. They grew up in a state that was administered like a prison - there was no way out, nothing even remotely like freedom, but the food was sufficient to keep body and soul together. The alien rule of that time treated adults as minors and forced the citizens into the custody of state, and many people got used to such treatment. Some people still expect the state to do things for them which the people before the war were perfectly capable of doing for themselves. We were capable of making our own decisions, capable of taking responsibilities, but today we seem to have forgotten it. But this is not an excuse either. Nobody must ever be left alone in his misery. Everyone has the right to know exactly what he can expect from the state.

As usual at the times of hasty progress of the society, adjustment is easier and life is better for the young than for the old. Young people enjoy the whole world opening up before them. They are the makers of their own future. There is hardly any other country in Europe with so many young people on high posts. This is one of the pledges of our success. Yet, my dear young people on high places: take care of those who have taken care of you!

And my dear generation of elderly Estonians: teach the youth to take care of our country's defence, of our children, of our language, of our fatherland and our nation, as you have taught them for decades. Well, what is a state? A state is an entirety. An entirety consisting of the young and the old. An entirety of differences. On the election day, take each others' hands and think of the words of an ancient sage: - a whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. With this feeling in your hearts your choice will be firm - and the Republic of Estonia will firmly step into the new century.

Congratulations on the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia!

 

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