Minister of Justice of Estonia: Soviet monuments undermine the country’s security
Estonia is ready to change the laws to get rid of the Soviet legacy in the form of monuments
Soviet monuments in Estonia, protected by the state as being of cultural value, will be demolished as early as next year. This is necessary because they pose a threat to the country’s security, Estonian Justice Minister Leja Danilson-Jarg said.
“These monuments … are used to undermine the security of Estonia and promote a wrong approach to history. Here the state is forced to behave in a tough way, “Danilson-Yarg said in an interview with the state broadcasting portal ERR.
He noted that the Estonian Minister of Culture Anneli Ott changed his mind about monuments and agreed that Soviet heritage should be “removed from the list of objects to be protected” and therefore from public space. Danilson-Jarg noted that there are now about thirty Soviet monuments in Estonia, which are protected as cultural heritage objects.
“We cannot speak only of their cultural value: they are also very clearly related to the security of the country and security problems cannot be solved on the basis of the value of heritage alone,” he stressed. According to the head of the Estonian Ministry of Justice, the government commission will finally decide the fate of the monuments.
In May this year, the Latvian parliament argued in the first reading bill to demolish all Soviet monuments in the country. They are expected to be demolished by 15 November.
Soviet monuments in Estonia, protected by the state as being of cultural value, will be demolished as early as next year. This is necessary because they pose a threat to the country’s security, Estonian Justice Minister Leja Danilson-Jarg said. “These monuments … are used to undermine the security of Estonia and promote a wrong approach to history. Here the state is forced to behave in a tough way, “Danilson-Yarg said in an interview with the state broadcasting portal ERR. He noted that the Estonian Minister of Culture Anneli Ott changed his mind about the monuments and agreed that the Soviet heritage it should be “removed from the list of objects to be protected” and thus from public space. Danilson-Jarg noted that there are now about thirty Soviet monuments in Estonia, which are protected as objects of cultural heritage. “We cannot speak only of the their cultural value: they are also very clearly related to the security of the country and security problems cannot be solved only on the basis of the value of the heritage “, he stressed. According to the head of the Ministry of Justice of Estonia, the government commission will finally decide on the fate of the monuments. In May of this year, the Latvian parliament at first reading supported the bill on the demolition of all all Soviet monuments in the country. They are expected to be demolished by 15 November.
