Lithuanian Youth Supports Estonian Goverment over Monument Dispute

Lithuanian non-governmental youth organizations strongly believe that any state is not allowed to intervene in the internal affairs of another sovereign state, unless it is used as a measure of self-defense or the state violates human rights or is in breach of international law.

The Estonian government’s decision to remove the Bronze Soldier monument is taken with an appropriate respect to history and does not violate the sovereignty of any state. Thus riots in Estonia and undiplomatic Russian diplomacy‘s and its officials reaction makes think about the connection between these events.

The representative of the Lithuanian youth ask:

• Why Russia reacts inadequately to monument‘s and the displacement of the nearby war grave‘s, while wooden monuments of hundred thousands of Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians who died in the exile of the Soviet Union are rotting away and attempts to restore them were met with Russian government‘s interference.

• Why Russian press presents tendentiously the conflict caused by the displacement of the monument and the nearby war grave and in this way contra positioning Russia and the Baltic states?

• Why Russian Duma‘s delegation goes to Estonia to estimate (as they say) the violation of human rights while in Russia peaceful demonstrators opposing government are being arrested?

Lithuanian youth organizations call upon Lithuanian and Latvian governments to support the Estonian government and resist possible provocations to split the unity of the people in the Baltic States.