Parliamentary amendments to the law on the implementation of the Building Code, the law on planning and the law on state property, which make it easier to demolish Soviet monuments, were not approved by Estonian President Alar Karis. It is reported on March 7 office president.
“This is a legitimate goal, but prohibited objects are indicated in the law by an expression that cannot be unambiguously interpreted using generally accepted methods of interpretation. From the explanatory note to the law, it follows that objects related to the activities of the Soviet government are primarily prohibited. However, the ban itself is formulated much more broadly. But the principle of legal clarity requires that the law be sufficiently clear and understandable so that everyone can foresee the actions of the state and adjust their actions accordingly, ”the Estonian president’s office quoted the words of the Estonian president.
According to Karis, who was quoted in the office, article 1 (1) of the adopted law (on amendments – Ed.) is legally unclear and conflicts with article 13 (2) of the country’s constitution.
Earlier, on January 12, in the Estonian city of Kohtla-Jarve, a monument to those who died in the Great Patriotic War was dismantled. The city government was informed about the demolition plans half an hour before the start of work, the basis for this was the decision of an expert group at the State Chancellery.
On December 31, the mayor of Riga, Mārtiņš Stakis, called the demolition of monuments to Soviet soldiers the main result of 2022 for residents of the Latvian capital. He added that the inhabitants of Riga will continue to be patriots of Latvia.
In December 2022, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, during a conversation with Izvestia, stated that the authorities of the Baltic countries harm their future when they decide to demolish monuments from the times of the USSR. As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation noted, Russia condemns and does not accept the Russophobic position of the authorities of the Baltic countries.
The Baltic countries and Europe continue to dismantle monuments and monuments from the times of the USSR. On October 28, in the city of Raudona in Lithuania, a monument was dismantled at the burial place of Soviet soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. As reported, during the demolition, only the sculpture depicting a soldier with a machine gun and a banner in his hands was removed.
