Experts hunt missing coffins as Tallinn statue rises anew

Apr 30, 2007, 18:51 GMT

Tallinn - Archaeologists were left hunting for missing coffins at a war grave in Tallinn on Monday as the statue whose removal triggered the worst riots in Estonian history was re-erected in a nearby cemetery.

On Sunday, archaeologists and forensic experts began digging at the memorial site, where up to 14 Soviet soldiers were reportedly buried in 1947. By Monday evening, they had located nine coffins, Meeli Hunt, spokeswoman of the Estonian defence ministry, said.

'According to some data, there should be 14 coffins. Our information says that 12 should be the correct number, but it takes time to find them,' she added.

The coffins lay in a patch of grass at the foot of Tallinn's most famous monument: a seven-foot bronze statue of a Red Army soldier staring broodingly at the ground.

The memorial complex has long been the focus of controversy. Estonians see it as a symbol of their country's occupation by the Soviets, while most Russians see it as a memorial to Russians' sacrifices in the war against fascism.

Last Thursday the Estonian government gave orders for the entire site to be fenced off, in preparation for an eventual move to a nearby war cemetery.

The move sparked the worst rioting Estonia has seen since the Russian Revolution as protests spilled over into violence.

On Thursday and Friday nights, up to 2,000 youths, mainly ethnic Russians, ran amok in Tallinn, smashing windows, looting shops and hurling missiles at police, who responded with water cannon, tear gas, baton charges and flash-bombs.

At the height of the riots, government ministers ordered the statue's immediate removal. The move sparked more protests, with Russia threatening to break off diplomatic ties and accusing Estonian police of using excessive force on 'peaceful' protesters.

Rumours quickly spread that the statue had been cut to pieces, but on Sunday the Estonian defence ministry promised that it was unharmed, and would be put up in a new location.

At 5pm (1400 GMT) on Monday, the statue was revealed to the public, apparently unharmed, in a Tallinn war cemetery where Russian, British and Estonian victims of both world wars lie buried.

It is due to be inaugurated on May 8, the anniversary of the ending of World War II in Western Europe, Hunt said. The limestone wall against which it stood at its original site will be taken apart stone by stone, numbered and put in place by June, she added.

But the move seems unlikely to cool down the increasingly heated diplomatic row between Estonia and Russia. On Monday a senior Russian parliamentarian demanded that the Estonian government step down, only hours before he led a delegation to Tallinn for talks.

The demand was 'regrettable' and a 'propaganda statement,' the head of the Estonian parliament's foreign-affairs committee replied.

And Estonia hit back by issuing a protest note over the Russian authorities' alleged failure to protect the Estonian embassy in Moscow. The embassy has been surrounded by protesters since the crisis began, with staff blockaded in the building.

'The lives and safety of the embassy staff and family members are directly endangered,' the note said.

On Monday evening, the streets of Tallinn were quiet. The sale of alcohol is currently banned across much of Estonia, with police on maximum alert across the country.

But with the May Day holiday and the anniversary of the end of WWII approaching, and diplomatic relations growing steadily worse, a peaceful solution above the ground seemed likely to remain as elusive as the last few coffins beneath it.