[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 397 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 397

 Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia's embassies in 
 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of 
                                Estonia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 10, 2007

Mr. Shimkus (for himself, Mrs. Bono, Mr. Camp of Michigan, Mr. Neal of 
  Massachusetts, Mr. Feeney, Mr. Costa, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Holden, Mr. 
 Kildee, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. McCotter, Mrs. Miller of Michigan, Mr. 
 Pascrell, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, 
  Mr. Stupak, Mr. Upton, Mr. Shuster, and Mr. Costello) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia's embassies in 
 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of 
                                Estonia.

Whereas, on April 27, 2007, the Bronze Soldier Soviet monument in central 
        Tallinn was moved to a prominent location in the Garrison Military 
        Cemetery as a result of a decision by the Government of Estonia;
Whereas the Government of Estonia communicated its reasons for this decision to 
        the Government of the Russian Federation and offered to work with 
        Russian officials during the process, which the Russian officials 
        declined to do;
Whereas, on April 27, 2007, a crowd of more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered at 
        the site of the memorial and riots broke out across Tallinn;
Whereas more than 153 people were injured as a result of the riots, and one died 
        as a result of stabbing by another rioter;
Whereas several stores in Tallinn and surrounding villages were looted as a 
        result of the riots, and a statue of an Estonian general was set on 
        fire;
Whereas, since April 27, 2007, the Government of Estonia has reported several 
        cyber-attacks on its official lines of communication, including those of 
        the Office of the President;
Whereas, on April 28, 2007, and in days following, the Embassy of Estonia in 
        Moscow was surrounded by angry protesters who demanded the resignation 
        of the Government of Estonia, tore down the flag of Estonia from the 
        Embassy building, and subjected Embassy officials inside the building to 
        violence and vandalism;
Whereas, on April 30, 2007, a delegation of the State Duma of the Russian 
        Federation visited Estonia and issued an official statement at the 
        Embassy of the Russian Federation in Estonia that ``the government of 
        Estonia must step down'';
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the Ambassador of Estonia to the Russian Federation was 
        physically attacked by protesters and members of youth groups during an 
        official press conference;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the Swedish Ambassador to the Russian Federation was 
        attacked as he left the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow, and his car was 
        damaged by a crowd, resulting in a formal protest to the Russian 
        Federation by the Swedish Foreign Ministry;
Whereas the Government of Estonia has reported other coordinated attacks against 
        Estonian embassies in Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga, 
        Prague, Kiev, and Minsk, and the Estonian Consulate in St. Petersburg;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, Prime Minister of Estonia Andrus Ansip stated that a 
        ``sovereign state is under a heavy attack'' and that the events 
        constitute ``a well-coordinated and flagrant intervention with the 
        internal affairs of Estonia'';
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the public prosecutor's office of Estonia initiated an 
        investigation into the cyber-attacks against Internet servers in Estonia 
        and requested cooperation from the Russian Federation to identify the 
        source of the attacks;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the European Commission expressed its solidarity with 
        Estonia and urged Russia to respect its obligations to the Vienna 
        Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 1961, and 
        end the blockade of the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow; and
Whereas the Embassy of Estonia in Russia has been closed since April 27, 2007, 
        and Estonia has suspended consular services to Moscow because conditions 
        remain unsafe for Embassy officials: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the Soviet Union's brutal, decades-long occupation of Estonia 
        was illegal, illegitimate, and a patent violation of Estonia's 
        sovereignty and right to self-determination; and
            (2) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) expresses its strong support for Estonia as a 
                sovereign state and a member of the North Atlantic 
                Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization of 
                Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as it deals 
                with matters internal to its country;
                    (B) condemns recent acts of violence, vandalism, 
                and looting that have taken place in Estonia;
                    (C) condemns the attacks and threats against 
                Estonia's embassies and officials in Russia and other 
                countries;
                    (D) urges all activists involved to express their 
                views peacefully and reject violence;
                    (E) honors the sacrifice of all those, including 
                soldiers of the Red Army, that gave their lives in the 
                fight to defeat Nazism;
                    (F) condemns any and all efforts to callously 
                exploit the memory of the victims of the Second World 
                War for political gain;
                    (G) supports the efforts of the Government of 
                Estonia to initiate a dialogue with appropriate levels 
                of the Government of the Russian Federation to resolve 
                the crisis peacefully and to sustain cooperation 
                between their two sovereign, independent states; and
                    (H) urges the governments of all countries--
                            (i) to condemn the violence that has 
                        occurred in Estonia, Moscow, and elsewhere in 
                        2007 and to urge all parties to express their 
                        views peacefully;
                            (ii) to assist the Government of Estonia in 
                        its investigation into the source of cyber-
                        attacks; and
                            (iii) to fulfill their obligations under 
                        the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 
                        done at Vienna April 18, 1961.
                                 <all>