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President Ilves: we must build our future by following the example of those who signed the Tartu Peace Treaty

03.02.2010

Our status as full members of the European Union, NATO and the UN is not in any way rendered less potent just because some country does not recognize the historical fact and legal continuity of the Tartu Peace Treaty, said the head of state. In his speech today to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Tartu Peace Treaty, the president called on the Estonian people to be guided by the vision of those who concluded the peace treaty and to act in favour of freedom and a better life for the people of Estonia.

“I am more than convinced that the framers of the Republic and the negotiators of the Tartu Peace Treaty would want only one thing from us – that we move forward,” said President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, today at Vanemuise Concert Hall.

According to the head of state, Estonia’s independence is, above all, guaranteed by our functioning state, our nation’s intelligence, health, and self-awareness, and our democratic policies.

The head of state admitted that our independence is secured by far more than just signatures on the Tartu Peace Treaty or a contract with NATO. Rather, it is secured, “by the Estonian Defence Forces and police, rescue board and border guards, the Estonian Defence League and the Women’s Voluntary Defence Organization, our schools and educational system, our unemployment insurance, and our health care system.”

According to President Ilves, Estonia’s independence is not dependent on one or two documents that were signed almost a century ago or on whether someone chooses to recognise these documents today.

“Our status as full members of the European Union, NATO and the UN is not in any way rendered less potent just because some country does not recognize the historical fact and legal continuity of the Tartu Peace Treaty,” said the head of state. He emphasised his conviction that Estonia’s security is better today than it has ever been before in our history.

According to the head of state, the success story of Estonian diplomacy was written at the end of 1919 and the beginning of 1920, by putting an end to a war that had cost many lives and by marking down the Estonian border and negotiating for reparations.

In acknowledging the historic place of the Tartu Peace Treaty in the foundation of Estonia’s statehood, according to President Ilves, we can truthfully admit, “if we compare Estonia’s diplomacy in that era to our achievements in the years starting in 1991, then to put it mildly, we should have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Full version of the speech is available here.


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