ESTONIA: Almost extinguished, successfully reborn
The following text is the shortest possible review to help inform friends and guests from abroad about Estonia’s experience with foreign occupation and totalitarianism as well as its road to peacefully re-establishing national inde-pendence on the basis of democracy. Tunne Kelam Member of the European Parlament
The following text is the shortest possible review to help inform
friends and guests from abroad about Estonia’s experience with
foreign occupation and totalitarianism as well as its road to
peacefully re-establishing national inde-pendence on the basis
of democracy.
Tunne Kelam
Member of the European Parlament
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<strong>ESTONIA</strong>:<br />
<strong>Almost</strong><br />
<strong>extinguished</strong>,<br />
<strong>successfully</strong><br />
<strong>reborn</strong><br />
The August 19, 1991 military coup d’état attempt in<br />
Moscow offered an opportunity for the Baltic nations<br />
to restore their independence. In the space of one day<br />
the leaders of the Congress of Estonia and the Supreme<br />
Council reached a national understanding on the principles<br />
of restoring the statehood and mechanisms of<br />
procedure. A key aspect was the decision to create a<br />
Constitutional Assembly. On August 20, 1991, the Supreme<br />
Council in concordance with the Congress adopted<br />
a motion on the restoration of independence on<br />
the basis of the legal continuity of the Estonian Republic.<br />
Estonia’s independence was first recognized by the<br />
Yeltsin-led Russian Federation, followed by Iceland<br />
and Denmark. Within a few weeks all leading Western<br />
countries had re-established diplomatic relations with<br />
re-independent Estonia. On September 17, 1991, Estonia<br />
became member of the United Nations organization.<br />
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