The Estonian Parliament refuses to dismantle memorials to Soviet liberation heroes

The Estonian Parliament rejected a bill drawn up by the conservative People's Party EKRE to dismantle the Monument to the Liberator "Bronze Soldier" and other memorials to Soviet soldiers.

This came in a statement to the press service of the Estonian Parliament, where the Parliament rejected in the first reading a draft law submitted by the EKRE faction, stipulating that all so-called “red monuments” erected under Soviet rule, including the “Bronze Soldier”, must be dismantled immediately. 54 out of 101 deputies voted against the project, while 14 deputies voted in favor of it.

The explanatory note to the EKRE bill stated that moving the “Bronze Soldier” from the center of the capital, Tallinn, to the military cemetery did not change anything, and that “those hostile to Estonian independence continue to celebrate... the occupation of Estonia.”

The memorial was erected on September 22, 1947 on Tinismiaggi Hill in central Tallinn. Every year on May 9, thousands of residents and guests of the Estonian capital lay wreaths at the base of the monument. On the night of April 27, by order of the government, the monument was moved to the military cemetery, and the remains of 12 Soviet soldiers were reburied from a mass grave located near the monument. The Russian-speaking population considered these actions as a mockery of the memory of the dead and led to unrest that escalated into mass riots, during which about 1,200 people were arrested, and about 50 people were injured. Russian citizen Dmitry Ganin was killed.

The European Union described the situation near Yemen as potentially threatening the European economy.

This was stated by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Lombroskis, following a meeting of the Economic and Financial Council of the European Union , who continued that the consequences of the tense situation in the Red Sea are still limited, but he expressed his belief that the situation may threaten the European economy .

Dombrovskis pointed to what we are already witnessing of “interruption of shipping routes due to the situation in the Red Sea,” and said: “We continue to monitor the situation closely. At present we consider these consequences to be contained, but the risks facing the European economy remain.” .

The Ansar Allah movement  previously warned the ruling Houthis in northern Yemen, which controls most of the Yemeni coast on the Red Sea, of its intention to attack any ships linked to Israel, calling on other countries to withdraw their crews from them and not to approach them at sea, while a number of Shipping companies suspend transportation through the Red Sea.

Last Friday night, the United States of America and Britain launched strikes against targets of the Iranian-backed Shiite Ansar Allah movement (Houthis), which rules Yemen in the north of the country, describing them as a response to the threat to navigation in the Red Sea.

Member of the Supreme Political Council of the Ansar Allah group, Muhammad Ali al-Houthi, described what happened as terrorist barbarism and deliberate and unjustified aggression, while the military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, said that the United States and Britain carried out 73 raids in Yemen, resulting in the killing of 5 Houthi fighters and the wounding of 5 Houthi fighters.