AP Features, April 27th, 2007
Angry demonstrators hurled rocks and bottles at police Thursday in clashes at a Soviet war memorial in Estonia's capital as authorities prepared to remove bodies from a grave at the site and relocate them despite Russia's objections.
A bus shelter was set on fire and several businesses in the area were vandalized and looted. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw people climb into through the shattered window of a liquor store to grab bottles of liquor and beer.
Six policemen and a number of protesters were lightly injured, police spokeswoman Julia Garanza said. By midnight, the situation was under control and most protesters had gone home, she added.
The violence broke out late after about 1,000 demonstrators staged peaceful rallies throughout the day to protest government plans to remove the Bronze Soldier monument and adjacent war grave in downtown Tallinn.
Estonia's government intends to relocate the Soviet grave, believed to contain the remains of 14 Red Army soldiers killed fighting the Nazis during World War II. The Baltic state's ethnic Russians _ about a third of the population _ have vowed to protect the memorial. But many ethnic Estonians say it is a bitter reminder of five decades of Soviet occupation.
The dispute over the monument has aggravated tensions between Estonia and Russia, which has repeatedly called on its smaller neighbor to halt the plans to move the grave.
"I think it's absolutely repulsive," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. "I think this is blasphemy."
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov called for economic sanctions against Estonia and rerouting the transit of Russian exports to other countries.
Dozens of police had formed lines to keep some 600 protesters away from the monument after workers erected a tent over the memorial to shield the excavations from public view.
The clashes started when a group of protesters tried to break through a line of police officers guarding the memorial. The violence later escalated as police tried to clear the area in front of the monument. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and bottles. The windows of the nearby offices of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip's Reform Party were smashed.
Some protesters said police fired tear gas, but police spokeswoman Tuuli Harson said they used a type of powder for crowd control. They also tried to disperse the crowds with stun grenades.
"People tried to break through line and attacked police officers," she said.
Eleven people were detained, Harson said. Some protesters shouted, "Estonia is a disgrace," and one was detained after trying to jump the police barrier. Three others were detained after locking themselves in a car and refusing to obey police orders. Officers smashed the windows of the car.
The government has said it wants to identify the remains in the war grave and then relocate the entire monument to an undecided location. Medical examiners will be present during the excavation, and Estonian Ambassador to Moscow Marina Kaljulaid told Ekho Moskvy radio that Russia would also be allowed to have an official present.
Soviet troops invaded the Baltic countries _ Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania _ in 1940, but were pushed out by the Nazis a year later. The Red Army retook them in 1944 and occupied them until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Anticipating unrest, Estonia's border guards this week stepped up security checks on the frontier with Russia and Tallinn's police force was beefed up with reinforcements from across the country.
The prime minister has said the excavations would last up to two weeks.
