BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Second win for Tombak in EOS-Tallinn GP

TALLINN - Estonian Janek Tombak has won the EOS-Tallinn GP in his home country, beating Russians Valeri Valynin and Aleksandr Khatuntsev.

The riders faced a 179.2 kilometres long course, completing 14 laps of 12.8 kilometres each, in the city of Tallinn. Last year winner Tombak of Kalev Chocolate Team managed to win the 2006 edition as well. Omnibike Dynamo Moskou riders Valynin and Khatuntsev finished respectively second and third.

Race results :

1. Janek Tombak (Est-KCT) 4h12'16"
2. Valeri Valynin (Rus-ODM) s.t.
3. Aleksandr Khatuntsev (Rus-ODM) 0'05"
4. Vassil Kiryienka (Blr-ODS) 0'43"
5. Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat-RBR) 1'30"

Archbishop Petersoo "brought a strong sense of tradition"

GENEVA - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has sent a message of condolence to the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC) Abroad following the death of Archbishop Udo Petersoo in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He died on 14 May, aged 72.

In a letter addressed to the Toronto-based EELC, LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko described Petersoo as a partner in the joint LWF work, who understood the depth of the meaning of a communion of churches in view of the church's close working relationship with sister churches in Europe. "Working with the community of believers in North America as archbishop, he brought a strong sense of history and tradition to the culture," he said.

Noko paid tribute to Petersoo's strong commitment to the gospel during his tenure as archbishop. "As a leader in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad, he exhibited a strong faith and a love of God's people. Many have been blessed by his service," the LWF general secretary noted.

Petersoo was born in 1934 in Tallinn, Estonia. A graduate of the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, he was ordained in 1975. Prior to his September 1990 election as EELC-Abroad Archbishop, he was dean of Canada and pastor of Toronto's St Andrew's congregation.

Archbishop Udo Petersoo is survived by his wife, Reet Petersoo, three children and one grandchild. The funeral service will be held on 27 May at St Andrew's Estonian Lutheran Church in Toronto.

The EELC currently has around 6,600 members. It joined the LWF in 1947.

Enterprise Estonia expands foreign representation network

* At its meeting today the Supervisory Board of Enterprise Estonia approved the expansion of its network of foreign representations. The board decided to open an office in Kiev during the second half of 2006 and to begin preparations for the opening of similar offices in Tokyo, China (Shanghai or Guangzhou) and in the San Francisco Bay Area in America.

Additional positions will also be created in Enterprise Estonia’s existing representations in Helsinki, Stockholm and London. The board based its decision to establish new offices and reinforce its existing ones on their support for Estonian entrepreneurs in target markets where the opportunities for companies to boost their income from exports, strategic investments and technology transfer are greatest and most rapid.

The expansion schedule for Enterprise Estonia’s offices was approved in principle at a cabinet session on 13 April 2006. The Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also shown its support for the representation sites selected based on the companies’ needs.

Additional information :
Olev Raju
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Enterprise Estonia
Phone : 5 648 7876

Estonian police to guard controversial Soviet monument 24/7

TALLINN - Estonian police have mounted a permanent guard over a statue in downtown Tallinn that is at the center of an ongoing controversy, the Estonian government press service said Friday.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip earlier called for the "Soldier-Liberator" monument, which commemorates the Red Army's role in ejecting Nazi troops from the country in WWII, to be moved out of the city center, drawing criticism from Russia's Foreign Ministry and ethnic-Russian groups in Estonia.

The decision to post a 24-hour guard to protect the monument was made at the government's session Thursday, after the statue was painted white and blue - two of the colors of the Estonian flag - in the early hours of May 21.

"Considering the current situation, the government believes that in order to prevent inter-ethnic conflict and violations of public order it would be expedient to set up a 24-hour a day guard post at the monument," Estonian Interior Minister Kalle Laanet said.

Relations between Russia and Estonia have been poor in the last few years, as Estonia seeks official recognition of what it calls Soviet occupation from Russia - the Soviet Union's successor state under international law - while Russia accuses the Baltic state of discriminating against ethnic Russians living there.

Estonian heating costs to rise 30 percent

TALLINN -- The cost of heating in Estonia is to increase by one-third following a rise in the price of oil-shale oil, Estonia's Aripaev newspaper reported this week.

At an auction held May 19, buyers raised the price of oil-shale oil to $384 per metric ton, leading analysts to forecast a 30 percent increase in the cost of heating.

"The outcome of the auction mean that the price of heat coming from oil-shale oil using boiler houses will rise about one third," said Tiit Rahkema, president of Estonian Power Station and Distant Heating Union.

Rahkema questioned the reasoning behind the increased prices, saying that the cost of oil-shale as a raw material had not increased. "Let's wait and see what is given as the reason for the price increase this time, as last time it was global price increase," he said.

Toomas Hurt, Select Oil NV board member, agreed that the prices were high, but said they were in line with increasing fuel prices worldwide. "The oil price came out as a little too expensive for the moment, but crude oil prices are rising as well," he said.

The production of oil-shale oil in Estonia was state-subsidized until three years ago, when the rising fuel prices as a result of the Iraq conflict made it a profitable concern, said Heido Vitsur, economic adviser to the Estonian economy minister.

"There is no good solution to the heating price increase, we must decide in a couple of weeks what to do next," he said.

Estonia frowns on Baltic pipeline

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The German-Russian deal struck last autumn to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea to pump natural gas from Russia continues to raise concerns in the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine. These countries’ leaders have said they felt uneasy about, what they felt was, deals being made behind their back on an issue as vital as energy security.

by Michal Zajac

Even though most of the information concerning the manner in which the gas pipeline will be constructed remains secret, environmentalists in the Baltic states still say that threats to the environment do exist. After all, the gas pipeline is to be laid on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, there may be a temptation to add more pipelines to transport chemicals or crude oil. According to Estonian environmental protection expert Marek Strandberg no matter how advanced technologies are applied, the life of the Baltic Sea along the pipe line will feel their consequences.

Estonia, just like the remaining Baltic states, is opposed to the German-Russian plans. The four billion euro project to construct a 1,200-km gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea is to be completed by 2010. The pipeline is to skirt Estonia, so Tallinn doesn’t feel it will lose any potential transit fees, but it’s still voicing its reluctance to the venture.

But when it comes to the Baltic states, there is one overriding concern. Estonians still feel that Russia is casting a long shadow over their newly independent country. Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute Andres Kasekamp argues that Estonia’s concerns over the German-Russian pipeline have several dimensions. The Baltic simply have painful memories of Soviet occupation and wish to be distanced from any dependence on Moscow.

But Germany and Russia ......

Klaus wants to change EU form

* Tallinn - Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is on an official visit to Estonia these days, criticised the EU centralisation and proposed that the Union´s integration return to the model of intergovernmental cooperation and open market in his speech at the University of Technology in Tallinn today.

Klaus said he rejects EU unification from above and the creation of "supranationalism."

He noted he is convinced that the harmonisation of EU decision-making had gone further than necessary, reasonable and economically advantageous.

Out of the 22,000 laws that the EU has passed so far, 12,000 were approved between 1998 and 2005 and 10,000 from 1957 to 1997, Klaus recalled.

The role of the EU member states and the national parliaments has radically diminished, Klaus stressed.

He said that the EU is turning into a political union. Though one of the crucial steps of this process, the ratification of the European constitution, has failed, the creeping unification continues as if nothing happened, Klaus pointed out.

In the past, Klaus repeatedly stood up against the European constitution.

Klaus explained that his view of the free European integration process is different from many other opinions also over his experience from the communist era when the then Czechoslovakia had to follow the Soviet Union´s policy.

Thanks to this historical experience, a number of Estonians have probably a similar opinion about European integration, Klaus added.

However, the Estonian parliament ......

Estonia' s allure as visitor destination is growing

BY BEVERLY BEYETTE

*  The turrets, the ancient city gates and the cobblestoned streets — these are the fairy tale images of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, known collectively as the Baltic States.

Since gaining independence in 1991, these northeastern European neighbors, occupied by the Germans during World War II and later forcibly annexed to the Soviet Union, have been bidding to become big-time visitor destinations.

The capitals — Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania) — have well-preserved old towns. Charming boutique hotels have opened; so have good restaurants that shy away from such regional specialties as jellied pork, blood sausage and groats with fried fatty meat, and cater increasingly to international tastes.

But like most fairy tales, this one has a dark side. Those picture-postcard images of the Baltics sometimes are crowded out of my memory by reminders of decades of oppression : a dank torture cell in the Museum of Genocide Victims in a former KGB prison in Vilnius. The Museum of Occupations in Tallinn. And the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia in a windowless black slash of a building adjacent to Riga's Town Hall Square.

As they move forward, the Baltics don't want the suffering and losses of the dark days to be forgotten. My visit last fall told me they shouldn't — and they won't.

I arrived in Tallinn after an overnight train journey from Moscow, and checked into the nearby Merchant's House Hotel, steps from Old Town Square, the heart of the old city.

I bought a ticket for Tallinn City Tour's hop-on, hop-off sightseeing excursion on a red double-decker bus. It has English audio and during the nearly two-hour ride, proved a good way to see the green suburbs and the forgettable modern city.

We drove to Kadriorg, a tony residential suburb where we glimpsed the Baroque summer palace of Peter the Great (now an art museum). And we passed the Song Festival Grounds, where every five years the Songfest — a national obsession since 1869 — attracts up to 35,000 singers in folk costume and 250,000 spectators. (The next one will be in 2009.)

Having seen as much of modern Tallinn as I needed to .......

One in four buyers of sex in Estonia comes from Finland

Questionnaire brings responses from 400 sex workers in Estonia ...

One in four buyers of sex services in Estonia are Finns, according to an extensive survey released on Thursday.
      About 400 prostitutes in different parts of Estonia responded to the questionnaire arranged by the European Union equality project Equal last autumn.
      Finns were overwhelmingly the largest group of foreign customers, coming right after local men.
      The criminalisation of sex purchases in Sweden has not led to a flood of sex tourism from Sweden to Estonia ; Swedes account for only two percent of customers in Estonia’s commercial sex business.
      In previous surveys, the proportion of Finns has been estimated as being larger than the findings of the most recent survey indicate.
      The previous survey, in 2002, involved responses from Estonian police.
      "In five years the clientele has changed", says sociologist Helve Kase of the Estonian research institute which conducted the survey.
      "The other alternative is that the police had incorrect information", Kase says.
      
According to sex service providers, more than half of buyers were middle-aged married Estonian men. They say that Estonian police also visit brothels as customers. They also mention groups of British bachelors as a ........

Rising fuel costs increase prices of crossings over Gulf of Finland

* The current price of fuel is so high that it seems bound to lead to increases in the ticket prices on high-speed catamaran services from Helsinki to Tallinn. As a result of the increased costs, several passenger shipping lines have already introduced fuel surcharges to be added to their ticket tariffs.
      Car ferry operator Silja Line already announced a fuel surcharge of EUR 8.00 in their return ticket prices, while the additional charge reported by Tallink and Nordic Jet Line was EUR 10.00. For example, in the summer, Nordic Jet Line's lowest return price for a crossing over the Gulf of Finland and back is EUR 54.
      
The number of passengers from Helsinki to Tallinn dropped by some five percent during the first months of the current year when compared with the same period last year. The decline can partly be attributed to the reduced number of vessels plying the route.
      Particularly the number of high-speed ferries is declining. For example, Silja Line has reduced its fleet on the Helsinki-Tallinn route by one fast ferry and two cruise ships from last year.
      Furthermore, Tallink has only three high-speed AutoExpress vessels left sailing the Helsinki-Tallinn run, and the company is planning to reduce the number even further. On the other hand, Tallink also has one new cruise ship carrying passengers over the Gulf of Finland.
      
No signs of any major slowdown in the traffic between the two cities can be noticed, despite the recent slight dip. In 2005, the number of passengers travelling by sea to Tallinn was over 6.1 million - almost as many as in the record year of 2000.
      Both Tallink and Viking Line are planning to place a new kind of fast car ferries on the route. These ferries would sail from Helsinki to Tallinn in about two hours - just slightly slower than the high-speed catamarans.
      Tallink will start operating its new vessel already next winter, while Viking's fast car ferry will be launched at the beginning of 2008.
      "The competition is very tough", comments Nils-Erik Eklund, Managing Director of Viking Line.
      
The number of passenger cars .......

A little history : Estonian and Russian secret services

Johan Laidoner

Old wounds

Today's opposition of the Estonian and Russian secret services originates in the second decade of the last century. After the Estonian Republic declared its independence in February, 1918 its armed forces under command of Major-General Johan Laidoner (1884-1953) have been created. The Second department of the Estonian Joint Staff (J2) has received intelligence and counterintelligence functions. Laidoner, the former deputy chief of the investigation department in the staff of the Western front of the Russian tsarist army, paid special attention to the activity of the department. Not in the last instance it was the successful work of the J2 that provided a victory of the young Estonian army over the Bolshevik army of Russia not only in the own Estonian territory, but also in territory of the neighboring Latvia. As a result, in February, 1920 Moscow has been compelled to sign The Tartu Peace Treaty, that for the time being put an end to its claims for an establishment of the Bolshevik power in Estonia.

	Alexander Hellat

Upon the end of the war with the Soviet Russia, in April, 1920, the Security Police (Kaitsepolitseiamet - KAPO) – the second, civil intelligence authority of the Estonian Republic (the regular police executed some of its functions since November, 1918) has been created. The initiator of the creation of the organization was Alexander Hellat, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Estonia (1881-1943), known also as a talented lawyer and a diplomat. Captain Helmut Veem (1894-1941) became the first head of the KAPO. In 1925 the Security Police has been renamed into Political Police (Poliitiline politsei – PolPol). The functions of the organization included counterintelligence and intelligence activity, and also the struggle against the small communist underground in Estonia.
In the 1920’s and the 1930’s the Soviet Union’s intelligence considered the Baltic countries, including Estonia, simultaneously as a potential military opponent, and as jumping-off place for the intervention into other European countries. Still in 1919, in Petrograd (St.-Petersburg), a special intelligence centre of the Bolshevik armies was created with a purpose to organize intelligence activity in the territory of Estonia. In January, 1920 this centre had made a special "Scheme of the organization of intelligence in Estland", and just in a half a year it already reported on successful creation of two large district resident groups in Tallinn and Tartu and six more groups of a smaller, regional scale. Judging from the Russian sources, the resident group in Tallinn has appeared the most successful, it was headed by an experienced Bolshevik, who operated under the nickname of "Fedorov". He allegedly managed to get some valuable sources in the Estonian War Ministry and the Estonian counterintelligence office.

However the strip of success for the Russian military intelligence on the Estonian direction lasted not for long. As Russians themselves have been claiming, in Estonia – differently from the neighboring Finland, Latvia and Lithuania – it was necessary to work in the particularly complex conditions. The excellent activity of the local counterintelligence has left practically no chances to the Russians. As a result, the resident groups created early in the 1920’s have been found out and liquidated in 1924-1925. By the end of 1925 on the Estonian ground there were only five deeply secretive agents of the Bolshevik military intelligence. In the further this organization has not managed to improve its positions in Estonia. In 1933 it received the strongest strike by the arrest in Germany of its liaison Julius Trossin, thus breaking the communication with the resident groups in a number of European countries, including Estonia. The last Russian researches of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 testify that during this period the Soviet military intelligence had no trustworthy information about the Estonian armed forces and defense infrastructure.

Rocketsports racing signs Tonis Kasemets

* TONIS KASEMETS TO RUN IN SIX CHAMP CAR EVENTS WITH ROCKETSPORTS RACING IN 2006 EAST LANSING – With all the rumors that have been whispering throughout the paddock concerning Rocketsports Racing running two cars in 2006 and the possibility of the 2005 Toyota Atlantic runner-up, Tonis Kasemets, Rocketsports is proud to announce that a deal has been made to run the Estonian-American in six events in the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford 2006 season.

Kasemets chose the long road to the USA and proved his worth recently by scoring the second place trophy in the Toyota Atlantic Champ Championship last year. Only 17 points separated him from first place. Additionally, he was awarded the 2005 “Toyota Atlantic Ohlins Shock Technician of the Year” trophy for his excellence in handling the many chores required on his entry, the #6 Flexovit Abrasives Products/MK Industries/TMI/ Red Line Oil/Team Tonis “Yellow Magic”, as he often refers to her (the car).

Hailing from Parnu, Estonia, Kasemets joined wife Ilona as they migrated to America over the course of two years so that Tonis could follow his dreams. The 32-year-old driver caught the racing ‘bug’ at an early age, from his Cross Country Rally Driver father Toomas; via ice racing in the Baltic States and go-karting. He began racing European Karts at the age 8.

After completing the 1995 European Championship in Opel Lotus, he made his move to the states. During the years of 1996 and 1997, Kasemets sat out of professional competition .....

Estonia : Abolishing of "Happy Hours"

TALLINN - In an effort to curb drunk driving, National Police Commissioner Raivo Aeg has proposed a controversial solution : abolishing “Happy hour” in Tallinn bars. Because incidents of drunk driving are on the rise, Aeg said, the sale of cheap drinks should be stopped immediately.

“According to statistics, drunk driving has become a more serious problem. So the alcohol policy must be stricter,” the police chief was quoted as saying by his spokesman. Aeg also proposed banning late-night alcohol sales and promotional beverage tasting in shops. In 2001, officers caught 11,729 drunk drivers, 1,261 of whom were repeat offenders. The number has since jumped to 12,406 drunk drivers and 3,494 repeat offenders. Bar managers have passed the social responsibility back to police, saying Aeg should increase the number of roadside breathalyzer tests instead of targeting alcohol sales.

But Aeg claims the proposal is not an option : “Police simply cannot manage anymore roadside alcohol tests.”
The comment stirred public debate about roadside alcohol checks. Estonian newspapers have been filled with public opinion on the subject, with some decrying the crackdown as an invasion of personal liberties. John McGregor, the manager of several nightspots in Tallinn’s Old Town including the well-known bar Nimega, said few of his customers drive themselves home.
“I disagree with the .......

Estonia and Afghanistan

* Two Estonian troop carriers in Afghanistan were destroyed on May 18 when a convoy carrying equipment from Kandahar to Helmand came under fire.

The two armored personnel carriers were damaged beyond repair, the Estonian defense department said. No troops were injured in the attack.

Estonia has committed four Pasi armored personnel carriers, five Unimog trucks, and 33 defense force members to the American-led operation.

A further Estonian commitment, which involves more than 100 personnel, is scheduled for dispatchment later this year.

World music in a small country

TALLINN - The Estonian National Male Choir is renowned for their symphonic harmonies, but they have an unexpected hidden musical passion : the boys in tuxedos have a penchant for heavy metal. Last weekend they performed in the comfort of the Concert Hall. Next month they will take to the stage in very different circumstances, accompanied by angst-ridden metal band Metsatoll.

“I hope it will cross the border for a lot of people,” said Paul Pihlak, the concert promoter who has brought the groups together. Cross borders ? More likely, it will crash them. Diversity is what Pihlak’s Maailma Kula (World Village), a three-day world music festival in Tallinn next month is all about. It will take place in the ruins of the Convent of St Bridget at the seaside suburb of Pirita, a picturesque hollow shell of an ancient stone church that overlooks a stretch of river. The festival begins on June 16, and runs from 3 p.m. until midnight over the following two days. The promoters are promising a “picnic” atmosphere on the lawns, with several bars across the site to keep the proceedings lubricated.

It’s the first time the festival has been held, but already Pihlak has grand visions for Maailma Kula. “Our original idea was that we would work to be a part of the WOMAD festival circuit,” he said. That’s quite a target. WOMAD - World Of Music Art And Dance - is an internationally renowned series of festivals that take place across the globe. Inspired by musician Peter Gabriel - the former lead singer of Genesis - the first WOMAD was held in England in 1982. It has now become a recognized brand of its own, and music lovers trek the planet following its schedule of events.

Pihlak understands the burden of ......

TALLINN OLD TOWN DAYS

* June 1 - 4 - In some ways, every day in Tallinn, is an Old Town day. But at the beginning of June, Tallinn will celebrate the silver anniversary of its true Old Town Days.

Ever since the 14th century, Tallinn has held summer festivals for townspeople and foreigners. The festival has happened off and on ever since, but has been celebrated every year since 1982.

More info : www.vanalinnapaevad.ee

Remembering Michael Park

* A Michael Park memorial will be unveiled on 20 June 2006 in Tallinn, Estonia, to the memory of Michael “Beef” Park, who tragically died last year following a crash in stage 15 of Wales Rally GB.

At that time, Park was the co-driver of Estonian driver Markko Martin in the Peugeot Sport Team.

Markko Martin and many WRC drivers, including Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm, Petter Solberg, Chris Atkinson, Harri Rovanpera and Mikko Hirvonen will be in attendance.

Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen, Markku Alen and many other famous rally names will also be there to commemorate this special event in Estonia's capital.

Michael Park's family will be present for the event and a karting race will be organised to raise money for the Michael Park Foundation.

Estonian PM wants Soviet monument taken out of central Tallinn

* TALLINN - The Estonian prime minister said Monday a Soviet-era monument commemorating the Red Army's role in removing the Nazis from the country should be removed from downtown Tallinn.

Andrus Ansip told Estonian radio that the "Soldier-Liberator" monument "was a symbol of occupation and should be moved elsewhere" as other Soviet monuments had been following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Relations between the two countries have been poor in the last few years, as Estonia seeks official recognition of what it calls Soviet occupation from Russia - the Soviet Union's successor state under international law - while Russia accuses the Baltic state of discriminating against ethnic Russians living there.

Ansip said the monument could be taken to a local cemetery and also proposed reburying soldiers' remains if there were any under the monument.

Saturday, a rally by the Estonian National Movement demanded that the monument be taken out of the city center, before painting it in white and blue, two of the colors of the Estonian flag.

Ericsson selected by Elion for the launch of new generation multimedia services in Estonia

* STOCKHOLM -- Elion, the leading fixed-broadband provider in Estonia, is offering its customers a new range of real-time multimedia services. The service offering, is based on Ericsson's (NasdaqNM:ERICY - News) IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and is aimed at both consumers and enterprises.

The Ericsson IMS solution enables Elion to introduce its customers to a new generation of multimedia services, which will initially embrace IP telephony, video telephony, instant messaging, and IP Centrex services.

In order to further develop functionality and usability of the Hotifon service, Elion is running a trial that will end in August, 2006. During the trial, calls are free between Hotifon users and Elion fixed-telephony subscribers. Hotifon users can be reached from all fixed or mobile phones, both domestic and international.

Ericsson IMS includes core nodes, as well as application servers, enabling real-time multimedia services that provide enriched experiences for end users. The Ericsson IMS system is an end-to-end solution enabling a wide range of new multimedia services in both fixed and mobile networks.

Valdur Laid, CEO of Elion, says : "We ........

Latvian banker buys British football club

* A LATVIAN investor has plunged 7.4 million euros – or 5 million pounds sterling - into England’s Blackpool Football Club.

Valerijs Belokons, part-owner of the Baltic International Bank, also hopes to become president of Blackpool after buying a majority stake in the club.

The purchase was announced in Riga on May 19 after Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston and acting manager Simon Grayson met with Belokons.

He was the only serious investor vying for the club, Oyston has previously said.

The sale will be finalized once the deal is approved by a club general meeting on June 19.

Belokons has expressed interest in replacing Oyston as president, and said he would like to see the club lifted from its current place in the third-rung league, the Coca-Cola Football League One, in which it is 19th amongst the 24 teams in the tournament.

He follows in the footsteps of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who purchased Chelsea Football Club, but he has distanced himself from such comparisons.

“I am not Roman Abramovich, I am Valerijs Belokons," he told British media. He said he would like to see the club’s position improve so he could earn back his investment.