Police clashed with protesters at a disputed Soviet memorial late Thursday as authorities prepared to exhume the bodies of Red Army soldiers killed fighting the Nazis during World War II.
Photo: AP
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Riots Continue as Estonia Removes Soviet Monument
Estonian police clashed with large groups of protestors for a second night on Friday after the removal of the statue of a Soviet soldier and the death of one man in previous riots. Russia reacted furiously to the removal of the WWII monument. The Russian parliament called to cut diplomatic ties with Tallinn while Russian companies announced sanctions for Estonian firms. EU officials still keep their eyes shut to the developments.
The Estonian Government moved the Bronze Soldier in the dead of night after violent clashes that left one man dead and 57 injured. Looters set fires and damaged cars. Police arrested 300 people.
The authorities took the monument away early on Friday, saying it was a public order problem as it attracted both Estonian and Russian nationalists.
Russia’s upper house of parliament voted overwhelmingly Friday morning to ask President Vladimir Putin to sever diplomatic ties with Estonia. Federation Council Speaker Sergey Mironov told lawmakers there had already been enough mockery made of the memory of Soviet soldiers, referring to the lengthy stand-off over the issue of moving the memorial from the center of Tallinn.
Russian companies took an initiative ahead of any official decisions. The National Meat Association issued a statement on Friday, calling on Russian meat firms to halt all imports from Estonia.
Meanwhile, Kremlin-supported youth movements virtually besieged the Estonian Embassy in Moscow to condemn the monument removal by barring the way to the car of Ambassador Marina Kaljurand.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov broadened the monument dispute, saying at a NATO meeting in Oslo that the behavior of Estonia posed a challenge to European values. “Estonia and the Estonia Government have not respected these values,” he said. “The Estonian government spat on these things.”
The European Commission said it regretted the death of a demonstrator, but added it would not interfere in the matter.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 28, 2007
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