INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH BY 1989

This speech, calling for registration of Estonian citizens and the formation of a Congress of , was given by Tunne Kelam, member of the board of the Estonian National Independence Party and Chairman of the Citizens' Committees General Organizing Committee, at ceremonies commemorating the 71st anniversary of Estonian independence on 24 February 1989. The event was sponsored jointly by the Estonian Heritage Society and the Estonian National Independence Party in the concert hall "Estonia" theater.

Independence Day Speech Tunne Kelam

Dear compatriots, honored guests!

Speaking for the Estonian National Independence Party, I am happy to announce that at its session of February 21st, the executive council of the E.N.I.P. approved a declaration analogous to the one just presented by the Estonian Heritage Society. We already know that the Estonian Christian Union joined with it on February 22nd. This signifies a unified platform of action by the Estonian Heritage Society, the Estonian National Independence Party and the Estonian Christian Union, enabling us to prepare for the formation of a real and true popular representative body, by first initiating an investigation to ascertain those individuals having the legal and moral right presently to participate in determining the future of Estonia. I call on all other independent organizations and individuals in Estonia to join this program and to embark on a road of true initiative, a road the people have truly chosen, a road that will take us toward true independence.

The history of the observation of February 24 in occupied Estonia has proven the indispensability of such special days. Some deep inner principle has drawn our young people to celebrate the anniversaries of Estonian independence, despite risks and persecution. It has drawn them to (partisan) Kuperjanov's grave, and to the graves of soldiers from the War of Independence to raise the blue-black-and-white flags; disregarding the fact that the usual consequences of these actions were expulsion from school, interrogation by the K.G.B. and imprisonment.

Now the situation has changed, but changed thanks to whom? A year ago, when the founders of the E.N.I.P. and the members of MRP-AEG (Estonian Group for the Disclosure of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) approached the City Executive Committee for permission to celebrate Estonian Independence Day, a Committee representative replied: "That does not represent the interests of the Estonian people; the Estonian people do not need such a celebration." And yet, the Estonian people knew what they needed better that the colonial officials did.

Our history over the last few years has not been made at official celebrations filled with prominent figures. History has been made with the anti-phosphorite-mining demonstrations and the 1987 rally at Hirve Park; history was made in 1988 around the Tammsaare monument and across from the Supreme Court building, where people demanded rights for political prisoners; history was made with the spontaneous, seemingly purposeless demonstrations of autumn 1980. (A 15-year-old boy on his way to another rally, asked by his mother if it was really necessary for him to go, replied: "But someone has to go. And mother, you won't"). History was made with the signed by 15 www.singingrevolution.com 1 representatives of Estonia, and in 1979, which in 1983 became a direct impetus for the first resolution of the European on the situation in the Baltic states; history was made by Mart Niklus, and many other prisoners of conscience with their heroic opposition to the suppressors of their freedom and dignity; it was made with the campaigns of the finest Estonian intellectuals against injustice and censorship. And history has been made by the sufferings and violent deaths of tens of thousands of deported and arrested people. The seeming waste of the vitality of the countless victims of this occupation has not been in vain. It has become concentrated into a powerful sacrifice of salvation, helping to steer our destiny in a better direction, helping us to make it to the "Estonia" assembly hall today.

Our present has been centered around one single theme – how to restore our national and political independence. The Estonian National Independence Party considers this its primary duty. The activities of the E.N.I.P. are based on the firm conviction that the Estonian people have sufficient political maturity for independence and they do not need guardians from either East or West; that national independence is the only way to help our people rise out of colonial dependence and to insure our political, economic and cultural sovereignty.

National independence is the basis and precondition for all normal and genuine development – it is the only way for us. The events of the past year have set us on this path. However, in order to reach our goals, superficial changes are insufficient although necessary, and at least they've been made possible.

We will not improve our situation if we do not overcome our fear and do not work against the basic foundation onto which the local colonialist system is built. The most central stones of this foundation are the occupation forces and their military bases, which must be removed from Estonian soil because they are illegal and because they endanger the free expression of the will of the Estonian people. The Estonian people will endure only within a neutral independent state outside any military bloc.

We cannot speak of free expression until the main tool of the monopolistic one-party dictatorship and Moscow-directed colonialism – the Committee for State Security - is eliminated and its activities are disclosed. Otherwise, democratization will be nothing more than a worthless, hollow phrase.

It is not possible to make true progress down the road of democratization if we do not make the transition to a multi-party system, to political pluralism. Above all, this presumes the retreat of the Communist Party to an equal footing with other social forces, because then and only then can we speak of free popular expression, democratic elections and a lawful government. The often-used official excuse, which alleges the tradition of a one-party system in the , is actually nothing more than a tradition of extreme abuse of power and force. Such a "tradition" must be abolished.

Only the restoration of Estonian independence can restore her people's feelings of self worth and security, and return her to her legal place in the family of European nations. Consequently, the release of individual political prisoners is not enough – the Eastern European peoples taken hostage by Moscow must be freed as well.

Based on what I've said, let us ask: Has anything happened to indicate real changes in the character of this occupation regime, to indicate changes that might lead to fulfillment of our demands? No, quite the opposite. By all indications, the energies of the Communist Party are geared above all to surviving the crisis in a way which would allow it to retain its power monopoly. Our current situation brings to mind a thief who has beaten us half to death and stripped us bare of everything valuable. www.singingrevolution.com 2

In the light of historical truth, which awakens unexpectedly after being presumed dead, the thief is now exposed and feeling naked. He retreats, and flees, leaving behind those stolen items which are of least value to him. He has relinquished to us our national flag, anthem, coat of arms, language, freedom of assembly and of speech, and several other things. But have these things been returned with sincere regret? Quite the opposite. They've been yielded in the hope that when we stop to admire the things returned to us, we'll forget to demand the return of the most important item – the independence of our state. And if we do hesitate, the thief will gain enough headway to escape and regroup.

It doesn't end there. The thief, having recovered, comes around again. To cover up his nakedness, he carries out a second usurpation, raising up and monopolizing the symbols of the Republic of Estonia that he once trampled underfoot, thus giving his retention of power a nationalistic camouflage. We must not forget that the blue-black-and-white color combination could have a dual significance: a blue-eyed faith in the readiness of the Kremlin to understand Estonia's problems, a black conscience squeezed between the covers of a Party card, and white areas or blanks in logical thinking.

Representatives of the C.P.E. on the Central Committee level have claimed that the E.N.I.P. and the Interfront are united in their opposition to raising the Estonian national flag over Pikk Hermann tower. The position of the E.N.I.P. – like that of other nationalist organizations – on this issue is due to the seriousness with which we regard national symbols. We feel that national symbols should not be objects of political manipulation, especially by institutions that mocked these symbols and brutally persecuted their users just a few years ago.

The raising of our national flag in the spot traditionally reserved for the state flag gives an erroneous picture of the changes that have taken place by deepening the illusion that independence has almost been restored – at the initiative of those who originally occupied the Republic of Estonia. The ulterior motive of such a move is not only to lull and restrain the Estonian people's serious attempts to regain independence, but in a broader perspective, to convince Western states to withdraw their non-recognition of the annexation of the Baltic states, and thus to achieve the West's legal recognition of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians as members of the U.S.S.R. They will do this by skillfully juggling the concept of sovereignty, deliberately using the false meaning of the word, which in the current propagandist jargon does not mean independence, but simply home rule. They are willing to brush the Soviet Baltic states with a thick coat of paint in national colors, to allow national anthems to be sung on every corner, simply to give the impression that now injustice has been abolished and freedom has been restored, and to make others forget that the stipulation for all recent achievements is continued membership in the Soviet empire.

What if, in the interests of improving relations with the Soviet Union and relaxing tensions in Europe, the West really does swallow the bait and withdraws its recognition of the legal continuity of the independence of the Baltic States? And what if Moscow recovers from its moment of weakness with the help of such Western actions? Then we have reason to fear that the Occupation army's tanks will re-emerge from underneath the blue-black-and-white shrouds at the proper moment, and that the insatiable hydra of Red terror will once more stretch out its deadly tentacles from Pagari Street, and that the impotent protests of Western states will be rebuffed with the crude retort: "Keep your mitts off our internal affairs!" By that time, members of other nationalities will be a majority in Estonia. And prospects for national rebirth will pale into nothingness.

While mindful of these real dangers, we still do not plan to deny the tricolor flying above the tower of Toompea. Our feelings are based on the fact that the Estonian national flag, dignified by countless victims, is not an abstract symbol having only emotional impact, but the focus of sacred and powerful forces. The flag above Pikk Hermann is a sign that predicts the demise of the same www.singingrevolution.com 3 occupation power that rushed ahead of our people to raise it there. In spite of the plans of the ruling clique, it is a signal that the re-emergence of the true Republic of Estonia is closer than we could have imagined. Our sacred national symbol is a blessing and a sign of hope for those pure at heart, whereas it confuses and weakens those that touch it with soiled hands and ulterior motives.

And thus we have the choice of another route - a way of initiative beyond the official power structure – a way that seeks the unconditional restoration of the independent Republic of Estonia. Some claim that this route is not realistic, and perhaps a majority of our people still share this feeling. But we must be clear on who is saying what. Some liken the demands for the restoration of our stolen independence – the only possible normal status for any nation to extremism. In that case, what kind of term must we use to characterize the mass murders and regime of terror carried out by the Communist Party?

Where, then, is reality? Is reality represented by the occupation powers that have been here 49 years, or is it represented by that power's deepest crisis? (Isn't the raising of the blue-black-and-white flag above Toompea symbolic of this crisis?) Is reality represented by the destruction of the Republic of Estonia by the occupation forces or is reality in the remarkable continuance of the Republic in the consciousness and will of tens of thousands of people for half a century? Is political reality represented by tanks or is it in Moscow's inability to solve anything by using them? Isn't reality the shameful failure of the Soviet interventionist army in its attempts to break the resistance of the Afghans? And isn't reality the unprecedented political activism of our own people and their clearly expressed desire for independence?

Finally, speaking of the "unreality" of the re-establishment of the Republic of Estonia, then we should recall that the greatest "unreality" of the last two and a half thousand years is certainly the re- establishment of the state of Israel. (Poet) Juhan Liiv likened the fate of Estonia to an Israel of the North, and with good reason.

And so we've reached a crossroads. Which way shall we go? We're facing a suffocating double standard. We're told: take what you can, because "what you have, you have." But what do we have, and who has it? The comrades in our leadership who use their right hand to raise the national flag today, used their left hand just yesterday to lay flowers on the monuments of our occupiers. Who are we actually dealing with - "liberators" or interventionists?

Jakob Hurt's final speech in 1906 is relevant to our situation today. He said: "We are living at a great turning point in the Russian state. They want to modernize life and improve conditions everywhere. The worthless and unusable must go; the truly worthwhile and useful, the just and necessary must rise up and live." Hurt exhorts us to consider the suggestion of apostle Paul: "Strive to become better," because, "the first and most noble endeavor is to make better and reform the people, the doers. Once they have been made better, then all else will get better."

The deciding factors at the present moment will not be successful manipulations and maneuvers, but rather the purity of our choices: the moral foundation on which we will start building our independence. The parable of the man who built his house on a rock is more pertinent now than ever before. Rains and storms were unable to sway his house. A house built on the sands of immoral and unnatural compromises may seem lucrative and fashionable in today's sunshine, but will crumble in the first storm.

We must unite. That is the right thing to do. But with whom and on what principle? I'm convinced that we can unite only on the principle of total national independence, on a firm ethical basis. This requires the union of all morally sound forces. We must realize that we have no energy to waste. We www.singingrevolution.com 4 need it all. We must not spend the fresh energy of our reawakened hopes on useless illusions of the possibility of reforming the empire. A tyrannical and deceitful system is by nature uncreative and parasitic. In order to stay alive, it unconditionally needs our emotional energy, the energy of our naive faith and hope and goodwill; it needs our tacit consent to membership, our passive support. Many short-sighted Communists, conceding that their actions are contradictory, avoid solving the problem by leaving it all up to future developments: "If nothing comes of financial autonomy and sovereignty, then I'll turn in my Party card." But may we ask: If that's how things turn out, what value would such a gesture have any more?

We must move onward in pursuit of the historical and moral continuity on which we base our stand. We are passing through a dangerous swamp and the only rope we have to hold on to is our historical continuity. That rope must be fastened to stakes grounded deep in a base of morality. If we release that rope or forget it exists, if we succumb to temptation and sit down to rest and taste berries on a hummock in the swamp, then we are lost. If we hold on to this rope and press on through all hardships, then we have a prospect – our only prospect – of reaching the finn island of independence. It all depends on us – on our choices, on our purity, our courage and our persistence. The right choice guarantees us the strength of purity and morality. Moral strength guarantees courage; the courage of true convictions guarantees we will be steadfast in our struggle and we will reach our goal.

In order to change the existing system we must set about solving its basic problems. First, we must have the demilitarization of Estonia, then, the formation of a genuine popular representative body. The demilitarization of Estonia is the primary step from which we can proceed to solve other problems. The liberation of the Estonian territory from foreign armies will free us of a deep existential fear that inevitably distorts natural processes of reason and inhibits attempts at bold solutions. The formation of an Estonian National Congress will stimulate popular initiative, self-reliance and co- operation, providing a clearly just and national perspective in the current tangle of political ideals.

There is one more thing. We must build our future vertically as well. If those who seek greater independence for Estonia were able to raise their eyes above the horizon of the Kremlin towers, if they were able to improve their relationship with our Almighty God, perhaps they would have discovered broader possibilities for escape from distress. I dare to assert that if our reformers had directed but a hundredth of the energy they spent knocking on the doors of Moscow offices into sincere prayers to the Creator of heaven and earth, the actual positive changes in Estonia might already be tenfold. The painful experiences of our past teach us that the well-being of the Estonian people is unthinkable without the blessing of God. Even our professional politicians, frightened by the catastrophe that awaits us, are groping to realize this in their final throes of distress. Indeed, our national anthem ends with the lines "May God watch over you, my dear Fatherland... "

A clock of freedom concealed within our common national organism has been ticking all these years toward self-government for the Estonian people. Sometimes its sound has been nearly imperceptible, and sometimes so loud that the annoyed occupation powers have had to drown out its warning tick with their own loud noise.

Now the tempo of the ticking increases and is filled ever more with promise. We are nearing the moment when the hour of freedom will chime. Perhaps there are only five minutes until these festive tolls of freedom, perhaps several years, but actual time is no longer significant in today's circumstances - time moves more rapidly with the maturation of our spiritual and moral readiness. With this hope we depart today from this historical hall, under the protective shadow of the Almighty.

Note: Transcribed from audiotape. Transcript reviewed by author. www.singingrevolution.com 5