Parliament Honors Champions of Estonian Independence With Resolution (13)
Parliament passed a resolution recognizing Estonian citizens who stood for the de facto restoration (international law never recognized a discontinuity of the country's sovereignty after 1940) of Estonian independence during the Soviet and Nazi German occupations.
Speaking before Parliament, one of the bill's authors, MP Marko Mihkelson (IRL), said it was meaningful that the bill was adopted in a consensual atmosphere.
"The Republic of Estonia has a big moral debt of honor, the repayment of which has been expected for many years. There is no doubt that every country has a responsibility to remember and recognize those who have fought, risked and suffered in their name. In one form or another, Estonia has memorialized those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom, but until today Parliament has not previously recognized the people who stood for restoration of Estonian independence," said Mihkelson.
A passage of the resolution declared the following: "Parliament condemns the repressive politics of the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany and the activities of persons who, in the service of these regimes, have committed crimes against humanity, irrespective of their citizenship and location of commitment of these crimes."