AP News, February 22nd, 2007
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves vetoed legislation Thursday calling for the removal of a Soviet war memorial from the capital, saying the measure violated the constitution.
The bill, which provoked an angry response from Moscow, now goes back to parliament where lawmakers could override Ilves' veto.
The measure would prohibit the public display of monuments that glorify the five-decade Soviet occupation of Estonia. It was specifically aimed at the Bronze Soldier, a World War II memorial in Tallinn, the capital, that has become a rallying point for Estonia's Russian-speaking minority, about one-third of the 1.3 million population.
Ilves announced he would not sign the bill after lawmakers approved it Feb. 15.
"I find it necessary to have a new discussion on the Law on Removal of Forbidden Structures in Parliament and bring it in line with the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia," Ilves said.
He said the measure violated six articles of the constitution. Ilves has made clear, though, that his rejection of the legislation was based on technical details, not Russia's loud protests.
Plans to remove the monument have infuriated Moscow, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calling it "a sacrilegious action," according to Russian media.
If lawmakers override Ilves' veto, the president could take the issue to the country's Supreme Court.
The Bronze Soldier was erected in 1947 as a tribute to Red Army soldiers who were killed fighting Nazi Germany, but many Estonians see it as a bitter reminder of the hardships they endured under Soviet occupation.
For Russians, the Red Army's crucial role in defeating Nazi Germany remains a cherished point of national pride.
Estonia and Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania regained independence in 1991 amid the collapse of communism in eastern Europe.
