People who helped restore Estonia's independence acknowledged on national holiday

Photo: Toomas Tatar / Postimees

The events to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the restoration of Estonia's independence started already on Aug. 19 with a night concert 'Jarjepidevus' ('Consistency') in Tartu which included the speech of the President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves among other things.

In his speech Ilves congratulated all Estonians saying that Estonia is free, and Estonians have «immense strength, enormous amounts of hope and determination, strength and consideration, faith and love, free will and a desire to aspire for the best,» he was quoted as saying by the spokespeople for the office of the president.

The celebrations continued on Aug. 20 during which speaker of the parliament Ene Ergma thanked the members of the last Supreme Council, called the 20th August Club, and said that these 69 people still deserve the thanks and awe of the Estonian people for their fortitude and courage in restoring the independence of Estonia. She also thanked the people who gathered 22 years ago to protect the Toompea Castle and the Tallinn TV Tower from the Soviet troops.

Ergma handed over to president of the club Ants Veetousme a statistics collection on the last Supreme Council which was put together by the Chancellery of the Riigikogu and the National Library.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in his official speech on Aug. 20 warned the Estonian people about political acedia which is expressed in thinking that everything is set and that achieving something new and better is hopeless.

He recalled that political acedia was talked about already in the 1930s, and said that this kind of feeling is both dangerous and false since everybody can start again and improve themselves which has always been the strength of Estonians. Ilves called for people to create and think to avoid stagnation and becoming exhausted. «Let us criticize what is wrong since critique is the basis for progress. But let's value the things the value of which should not be forgotten,» he said.

On the same day Ilves also thanked the journalists who 22 years ago were «the inspirers and unifiers of the Estonian people». He gave a piece of the stone boulder that protected the parliament house in 1991 to journalists Riina Eentalu and Erki Berends who worked at Estonian Radio in 1991. According to Ilves Riina Eentalu was probably the only woman among the radio journalists who refused to leave the Radio House in the face of a possible attack and her voice assured everyone that Estonia hadn't been taken yet.

On Aug. 20, 1991 Estonia's then legislature, the Supreme Soviet, proclaimed the restoration of the country's independence while the Soviet special forces troops surrounded the Tallinn TV Tower and an attempted coup d'etat was taking place in Russia.