[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 187 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 187

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 3, 2007

 Mr. Voinovich (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Smith, and 
Ms. Mikulski) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
                             and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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--
     (a) it is the sense of the Senate 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
    (b) the Senate--
            (1) 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;
            (2) condemns recent acts of violence, vandalism, and 
        looting that have taken place in Estonia;
            (3) condemns the attacks and threats against Estonia's 
        embassies and officials in Russia and other countries;
            (4) urges all activists involved to express their views 
        peacefully and reject violence;
            (5) honors the sacrifice of all those, including soldiers 
        of the Red Army, that gave their lives in the fight to defeat 
        Nazism;
            (6) condemns any and all efforts to callously exploit the 
        memory of the victims of the Second World War for political 
        gain;
            (7) 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
            (8) urges the governments of all countries--
                    (A) to condemn the violence that has occurred in 
                Estonia, Moscow, and elsewhere in 2007 and to urge all 
                parties to express their views peacefully;
                    (B) to assist the Government of Estonia in its 
                investigation into the source of cyber-attacks; and
                    (C) to fulfill their obligations under the Vienna 
                Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna 
                April 18, 1961.
                                 <all>