Estonian president says don't mix ethnicity and politics

Nov 21, 2008, 14:28 GMT

Tallinn - Estonia's president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, on Friday called on his countrymen to set aside ethnic differences in a speech in the capital, Tallinn.

'An ethnic Russian who is a resident of Estonia is not a priori the supporter of Russia's national policies, just as every Estonian is not automatically a supporter of the [Andrus] Ansip government. Citizens of democratic countries do not connect their love of country with the person of the prime minister or president who happens to be in power at the time,' Ilves said.

Andrus Ansip is the current prime minister of Estonia.

In what appeared to be oblique references to two prominent news stories in Estonian current affairs, Ilves said 'Estonia can be home to all the people who live here only if its residents care for and protect this home, and do not try to sell it or burn it down.'

The 'sell it' reference seemed to allude to Herman Simm, an ethnic Estonian former head of the security department at the Ministry of Defence, who was arrested by police in September on treason charges for allegedly selling secrets to Russia.

The phrase 'burn it down' evoked memories of April 2007, when hundreds of ethnic Russian youths rioted in the capital, Tallinn, following a decision to relocate a Soviet war memorial.

Ilves' call for unity is the latest in a series of initiatives designed to defuse inter-ethnic tensions in the small Baltic republic. In October, the Estonian government launched a campaign entitled 'It is good to be an Estonian citizen,' designed to encourage ethnic Russians to apply for Estonian citizenship.

Around one quarter of Estonia's population of 1.3 million is ethnically Russian, including more than 100,000 'non-citizens', who have resident status but no passport.