Extremist ideologies have no base in Estonia - security police

Photo: Peeter Langovits

Extremist ideologies have no popular base in Estonia and as far as such ideologies go the biggest potential threat arises from the import of extremist ideas from other countries and the radicalization of small groups as a result of propaganda available on the internet, the annual review of the Estonian security police for 2012 says.

"Last year marked the fifth anniversary of the April Riots of 2007, which offered an opportunity to make a longer-term assessment of the impact that these events and the decisions made then had on extremism. It is important to recall that tensions around the World War II memorial in Tallinn and its controversial meaning were mounting in the years leading up to the riots as myths surrounding the Soviet Union and the Red Army were being revived in Russian state propaganda and media," the security police said.

It said that in 2006, these tensions culminated in a series of manifestations by extremists as well as clashes forcing the police to restrict access to the war memorial for the entire summer. Sporadic coverage of these events in the media overshadowed more important issues throughout the entire year.

Today, the leaders of the extremist actions no longer interest the general public nor could they mobilize tens or hundreds of people onto the streets. By today, those people who, on an emotional level, are deeply bothered by the glorification of criminal totalitarian regimes have regained trust in Estonia's constitutional order. And others, who place importance on commemorating those who lost their lives in the war, can now do it in accordance with European practices and without insulting anyone, the yearbook said.

Over the last years, extremism's form of expression has changed. In Europe a new generation of right-wing extremists, so-called autonomous nationalists, who do not make use of familiar extremist symbolism and keep their views hidden from the public, are gaining support. They are ready to use violence in order to achieve their goals. And according to law enforcement structures, these types of circles could potentially give rise to right-wing terrorism.

In Estonia, attempts to promote "anonymous activism" via certain websites have so far been unsuccessful. Right-wing extremism has only about one hundred active supporters in Estonia and therefore is clearly marginal, compared to the rest of the world.

Unlawful behavior purposefully aimed at attracting public attention is not necessarily always extremism, as extremism is mainly characterized by an underlying extremist ideology. But even with no ideology, for example, provocative and aggressive actions on the web can pose an indirect threat to constitutional order. Mostly this occurs when actions that have already received attention in other countries are copied. Individuals seeking to test their "abilities" carry out attacks on government and electronic infrastructure and, in the process, keep people from seeing to their daily business and hinder their access to information.

"As a modern security agency, the security police has developed the ability to identify extremism and other activities that could pose a threat to security. In 2012, the security police identified individuals threatening to carry out cyber attacks in Estonia. The youths did not pose any actual danger to state security," the annual review said. In the future, however, the security police will continue to cooperate with the Estonian Information System Authority, the police and other relevant authorities to ensure that such cases do not develop into serious security threats.