BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Ivory Coast investigators to travel to Estonia to probe waste ship

* TALLINN - A team of investigators from Ivory Coast will travel to Estonia to probe the ship at the heart of a deadly poisoning scandal in the west African state

"The aim of our mission to Estonia is to collect evidence on the causes of the pollution" last month in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, that has so far claimed eight lives, Ivorian government spokesman Apollinaire Yapi was quoted as saying by Saturdays's edition of the Eesti Paevaleht daily.

The Probo Koala ship, chartered by the Netherlands-based shipping company, Trafigura Beheer, last month offloaded more than 500 tonnes of waste -- reportedly a mixture of oil residue and caustic soda used to rinse out the ship's tanks -- in Abidjan.

A local company charged with disposing of the waste dumped it on several landfills in the city of four million people, sparking a health crisis which has claimed eight lives, seen 69 people hospitalised and triggered 80,000 calls to doctors for medical help.

Estonian officials on Wednesday impounded the Probo Koala and launched a criminal investigation after tests conducted on waste that the ship's crew had asked to discharge in the Baltic state showed "similarities" with that delivered to Ivory Coast, according to the state prosecutor's office ......

Law : a problem in Europe !

* The existence of some laws points to another fundamental divide within Europe : between the established fifteen member-states and the ten which joined in May 2004. Many of the latter (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) routinely use criminal defamation laws to prosecute freedom of speech. "In central Asia and in eastern Europe, this is the single biggest reason for jailing journalists", says Haraszti. "What we want to do is make it an issue of solidarity (with other EU countries)."

These cases do not receive serious publicity, nor have they served as a deterrent for these countries' EU membership. Prosecutions that were already underway at their accession are still continuing.

"I get letters from people in these countries pointing out that other EU countries still have such laws on their books", says Haraszti. The point is echoed by Toby Mendel, who comments that "transition countries" say in effect : "Oh, yes, we have an oppressive law, but that's all right because Germany has it, and France has it, too."
The cases come to court with surprising frequency. OSCE's 2005 Libel and Insult Laws : a matrix on where we stand and what we would like to achieve, reports that fifteen people in Estonia and sixty-five in Hungary served prison sentences for defamation, libel, or insult in 2002-04. In Poland, reputedly the most restrictive country in the European Union over freedom of speech, the numbers accused under defamation laws increased from 6,272 in 2002 to 7,218 people in 2003.

Europe can dismiss or ignore the ongoing criminal defamation cases in the newer EU countries (most of which involve accusations of corruption) as minor ; but the denial of genocide is far more serious. Corruption is regrettable, a social ill - but prosecutions that appear to endorse official suppression of the past and discussion of it strike at the heart of modern European values.

Russia worried by NATO expansion

PORTOROZ (Slovenia) - Russia is concerned about the expansion of NATO's infrastructure in the new member states of the northern alliance, Russia's defense minister said.

Sergei Ivanov, who is also deputy prime minister, said at a session of the Russia-NATO Council: "We are worried by the reconfiguration of NATO's infrastructure without prospects for the ratification of the Adapted Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe [CFE]."

The CFE treaty establishes limits on military hardware and troop numbers for all countries from the Atlantic to the Urals, and aims to establish a military balance on the European continent. The Istanbul Commitments, signed along with the Adapted CFE treaty in Istanbul in 1999, concern Russia's military presence on its southern flank.

The minister's comments came against the backdrop of a diplomatic scandal caused by the arrest of Russian officers in Tbilisi for allegedly spying. Relations between the countries have been tense in the last few years over Georgia's two separatist republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russian peacekeeping forces have been stationed since the bloody conflicts of the early 1990s.

Ivanov also voiced Russia's worries over Georgia's active acquisition of weapons. "We are concerned over Georgia's policy of stepping up arms purchases."

On Thursday, he accused certain new members of NATO of supplying Georgia with weapons obtained earlier from the U.S.S.R., when they did not have the right to re-export them. He said conventional weapons laws were being violated.

"This is piracy," he added.

Former members of the .........

New bill may result in removal of Soldier Liberator monument

TALLINN - A draft bill submitted to the Estonian parliament on the burial of servicemen could entail the destruction of the Monument to the Soviet Soldier-Liberator of Tallinn, the Estonian Russian language organization Night Watch said in a statement on Friday.

"Nationalists are increasing tensions and are continuing to speak of pulling down the monument as if it were a decision that has already been adopted," it says.

"Now this issue has been forwarded to the parliament, the draft bill entitled 'on the protection of military burials and the withdrawal of forbidden constructions,' the remains of soldiers could be reburied away from the monument, which may itself be pulled down or destroyed," it says.

Stavros Dimas travels to Estonia to support the investigation of the illegal waste shipment

* European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas is on a fact-finding mission to Paldiski harbour, where Greenpeace blocked the ship's departure, followed by a search of the Estonian authorities which revealed the presence of highly toxic substances on board. "It is shocking that toxic waste from Europe reached the Ivory Coast causing so much human suffering and damage to the environment. We have European waste shipment regulations which ban such export, but apparently the law was broken. I am going to Estonia to support the Estonian efforts to bring light to this affair, to find out for myself what happened and to take appropriate action. I want to ensure that such an incident will not occur again", said Commissioner Dimas.

He will be meeting the Estonian Environment Minister Villu Reiljan in Tallinn before travelling on to Paldiski harbour where he will also meet representatives from Greenpeace and the press.

On the catwalk, how thin is too thin ?

* Spain's top fashion show made international headlines this week not for the clothes on display but for the size of the women wearing them.

The Sept. 13 decision from the Madrid regional government to enforce a ban on underweight models for Madrid Fashion Week catwalks has sent shock waves through the global fashion industry and set off a chorus of calls to expand the ban and formulate a new industry standard. The government's decision is intended to promote a healthier body image.

The unprecedented move marked the first time organizers of a major fashion show imposed weight limits in line with World Health Organization guidelines for healthy height-to-weight ratios used to calculate a person's body mass index, which estimates the portion of fat in the body.

Over 30 percent of the models who appeared in Madrid shows last year were disqualified under the new guidelines that will likely prevent the participation of top models such as Brazil's Fabiana, Spain's Esther Canadas, Britain's Kate Moss and Estonia native Carmen Kass.

"This is a great call to ........

Estonia about Russia : 2nd decade of September

* Pointing to the need to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies, experts recommend the Baltic countries to consider the expediency of joining the North-European gas pipeline. "Energy security has to take into account the risks emanating from Russia. This year, Russia has disrupted gas supplies to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia at least once. Though technical and legal problems were officially cited as an explanation, there might have been political reasons at play, due to deteriorating relations between Russia and these countries." "The Baltic states constitute a relatively small gas market that is not linked to any trunk gas pipeline. All sorts of crises, failures or disruptions may provoke serious problems with gas supplies to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It is necessary to consider the expediency of building extensions from the Russian-German gas pipeline, which is being laid under the Baltic Sea." (Eesti Paevaleht, September 21.)

Commentators say the government's inertia is the cause of escalating nationalism in Russia. "Xenophobia is gaining momentum with the silent support of the government, which is damaging the Kremlin's image. In light of the recent events, it seems that Moscow cares more for the neighboring countries than for its own ethnic minorities" (Postimees, September 20.)

Skanska constructs airport terminal in Tallinn

* Skanska has secured the contract to construct a new terminal at the International Airport in Tallinn, Estonia. The contract price totals EUR 39.3 M, approximately SEK 365 M. The customer is the state-owned airport company, AS Tallinna Lennujaam.

The contract applies to the new production of a terminal covering approximately 15,000 square meters and renovation of approximately 5,000 square meters of an existing building. The contract also includes responsibility for the extensive installation of communication and security systems. Skanska has previously carried out renovation work at the airport.

Construction will begin in the autumn and the project is scheduled to be completed in 18 months. The project will be conducted by Skanska Finland's Estonian subsidiary Skanska EMV.

Undersea cable plugs Baltics into Finland

TALLINN - The connection between the Baltic countries and their Nordic neighbors shifted from being symbolic to tangible last week as the Estlink undersea power cable reached Finnish shores. On Sept. 21, maritime construction workers laid the final stretch of the cable, which extends from Kakumae Bay near Tallinn to a substation in Espoo on the Finnish coast.

The Finns in Tallinn or "Alcohol Pickle"

Adam Cohen

HELSINKI – Finland's drinking problem is getting worse, souring relations with its European neighbors.

Around dinner time on a recent, unremarkable Wednesday, almost all of the 78 "drunk-tank" cells at Helsinki's Kisahalli jail were occupied. In one, a man lay on the floor, blathering obscenities and kicking the thick, hospital-green steel door. Unpleasant odors seeped through. Other cells had unconscious occupants, some passed out with limbs folded in awkward, origami-like poses.

"In Finland, if you drink, you drink a lot," says Marko Forss, a Helsinki police officer. "We are trying to [acquire] this European culture, but sipping wine, that's not so Finnish."

Finland's drinking habits have little in common with Mediterranean practices, creating a conflict between the country's struggle to control drinking and the European Union's drive for an integrated economic bloc. While EU rules allow each of the bloc's 25 states to set its own alcohol-tax rates, governments must allow individuals to carry as much booze as they want within the bloc's borders.

Under this pressure, Finland has loosened its ....

Carmen Kass : the unshaven lady

Milan Fashion Week offers a feast of exquisite food and art, not to mention clothes. Hairy legs have also made a distinct impression on the catwalk, reports Hilary Alexander

Forget hairy armpits, the latest fashion faux-pas seems to be hairy legs – a bit of a problem in a spring/summer season when there are few tights handy for emergency cover-ups.

* Carmen Kass is proudly setting the trend. The model, Estonia's most famous export, who celebrated her 28th birthday during New York Fashion Week, strutted the Ferragamo and Marni catwalks, her pins ablaze with little blonde hairs glistening under the powerful lighting.

Sorry but no pictures, as yet ...

Estonia refuses to impound ship over toxic waste case

TALLINN - Estonian maritime authorities have rejected a demand by the environmental activist group Greenpeace to impound the Panamanian-registered vessel Probo Koala, suspected of dumping toxic waste in waters off Ivory Coast.

"The Probo Koala ship that was blocked Monday evening in the Estonian port of Paldiski by a Greenpeace ship has no toxic waste on board," Tarmo Ots, head of the Maritime Administration's foreign and media relations, told AFP.

"The ship was checked by Estonian authorities on September 15 and was found to be clean of any toxic waste. It has not yet left the port and we do not see the need for any new checks," he said.

"We do treat Greenpeace demands with respect but there is just no substance behind the Greenpeace claim."

A Greenpeace statement issued Monday said the Probo Koala had "dumped toxic waste in Abidjan, in Ivory Coast, killing seven people and causing mass panic, with 44,000 people seeking medical assistance."

Greenpeace activists blocked the ......

New Russian ambassador

but no change to bilateral relations .... !

Russia's new Ambassador to Estonia Nikolai Uspenski is not promising any changes in the two countries' relationship.
"Relations between countries are not a matter of some person's wishes or somebody's personal train of thought, but an objective reality shaped by tough objective circumstances," Uspenski said in an interview with the Postimees daily. "Unless we cope with those circumstances nothing new can be invented."
There are many problems in the bilateral relations that need to be resolved.
"I am convinced that we shall first find a solution for the problems on the table and then we can look in which direction to proceed," he said.

SAS frequencies on Tallinn-Stockholm route

SAS will double its frequencies on the Tallinn-Stockholm route for the winter flight schedule. As of November 5, SAS will fly between Tallinn and Stockholm six times a week. The price of a one-way ticket starts at EEK 840.

Greenpeace blocks ship in Estonian port

Greenpeace blocks ship in Estonian port over Ivory Coast toxic dumping.

TALLINN -- Greenpeace activists in Estonia on Monday blocked the departure of a Dutch ship that had unloaded chemical waste blamed for the deaths of seven people in Ivory Coast, the organization and news reports said.

A Greenpeace statement said its ship Arctic Sunrise dropped anchor in front of the gasoline tanker Probo Koala at the Estonian port of Paldiski, preventing it from leaving.

The activists demanded that Estonian authorities impound the ship pending a criminal investigation.

Police were dispatched to the scene, the Baltic News Service reported. Estonian authorities could not immediately be reached late Monday to confirm the reports.

Dutch authorities are investigating the ship's owner, Trafigura Beheer BV, over the disposal of toxic waste in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The company says the waste contained only residue of a gas-oil blend and the caustic soda commonly used for cleaning petrochemical tankers.

But a U.N. analysis of the .....

Continue reading "Greenpeace blocks ship in Estonian port" »

TALLINN - A monument to Soviet soldiers killed in World War II has been desecrated in the town of Haapsalu, western Estonia.

The Laane police department said on Monday that it received a report on Saturday alleging that an unknown had scribbled the words "Urinate here" in white paint on the granite monument in the center of town.

Police launched a criminal investigation.

Those guilty may face a year in jail.

No suspect has yet been detained.

This is the second desecration of a monument to Soviet soldiers in the past couple of days. The first took place in the village of Lihula, where scum was piled on the foot of a monument, while the monument itself was sprayed red.

Romance is alive and well on the tiny island of Muhu, as Joanne O'Connor discovered when she gatecrashed a proposal at Estonia's loveliest hotel.

I'm standing next to a grand piano in a candlelit room singing backing vocals, while an Estonian man in a white towelling bathrobe and slippers serenades his fiancee. Imre, the hotel owner, is playing the piano, while my friend Carole and I fill in with the harmonies. I have no idea how this happened. And from the bewildered look on the fiancee's face, neither has she.

The serenade is the climax of, quite possibly, the most elaborate marriage proposal ever. It began with a meal for two on the hotel's wooden jetty, looking out across the sparkling waters of the bay. This was followed by champagne in the seawater hot tub on the beach under a pink twilight sky, where the question was popped. The dripping bride-to-be was then carried from the hot tub to the hotel lounge, where she was greeted by a rendition of Van Morrison's 'Have I Told You Lately ?' so flat that it made Holland look like the Himalayas.

Of course, she said yes. How could she not ? Padaste Manor is the kind of hotel that could squeeze romance from the stoniest heart.

On the tiny Estonian island of Muhu, just ..........

Election time means time for big promises, and Estonia’s Centre Party led by Edgar Savisaar announced last week that the average monthly salary in Estonia should be raised to 25,000 kroons (1,600 euros) over a period of four years (this includes the salaries of bureaucrats and civil servants). “If we want to be among Europe’s wealthiest, we must first reach the middle,” said Mr. Savisaar.

Savisaar’s opposition says the state has nowhere near this kind of money and points out that the state may only raise salaries of civil servants, other salaries dependent on the market economy. Taavi Veskimägi, former finance minister, suggested anyone who believed the promise of 25,000 kroons was “light-minded.”

* Last week, the Estonian business daily Äripäev published the results of a survey on the most- and least-trusted politicians and businessmen in the country. The 16,000 people polled ranked the people in the order below. Perhaps the results should be viewed philosophically (the good and bad in all of us), though we tend to view them as indicative of a terribly confused populace. In all cases, it’s enough to make your head spin.

Most Trusted Politicians

1. Toomas Hendrik Ilves (Euro parliamentarian and presidential candidate)
2. Andrus Ansip (PM)
3. Mart Laar (former PM and winner of the Friedman Award)
4. Arnold Rüütel (President)
5. Villu Reiljan (Minister of Environment)

Least Trusted Politicians

1. Edgar Savisaar (MP and head of Centre Party)
2. Villu Reiljan
3. Mart Laar
4. Arnold Rüütel
5. Toomas Hendrik Ilves
6. Andrus Ansip

Most Trusted Businessmen

1. Urmas Sõõrumaa (chief of Falck)
2. Oliver Kruuda (owner of Kalev Chocolate)
3. Toomas Luman (head of Estonian chamber of commerce and construction company owner)
4. Ain Hanschmidt (part-owner of Tallink)
5. Toomas Annus (Merko construction)
6. Jüri Käo (part owner of Estonian Railways)

Least Trusted Businessmen

1. Ain Hanschmidt
2. Urmas Sõõrumaa
3. Oliver Kruuda
4. Jüri Käo
5. Toomas Annus
6. Toomas Luman

Or maybe it simply is that most interviewed people only knew (or even, had heard of) these politicians and businessmen, and no others ..... ! And it would show that the wide populace doesn't care that much about it all .... !

* The Centre Party’s chairman Edgar Savisaar said Tuesday in a TV broadcast that if Toomas Hendrik Ilves were elected president, the president’s chancellery would not be led by Ilves but rather by his advisors.

Ilves took the broadside and then retaliated, commenting that if he were elected president, he would be led only by the Estonian constitution. Point, game, set, and match to Mr. Ilves.

Monument to Soviet soldiers desecrated again in Estonia

TALLINN - A monument to Soviet soldiers killed in World War II has been desecrated in the town of Haapsalu, western Estonia.

The Laane police department said on Monday that it received a report on Saturday alleging that an unknown had scribbled the words "Urinate here" in white paint on the granite monument in the center of town.

Police launched a criminal investigation.

Those guilty may face a year in jail.

No suspect has yet been detained.

This is the second desecration of a monument to Soviet soldiers in the past couple of days. The first took place in the village of Lihula, where scum was piled on the foot of a monument, while the monument itself was sprayed red.

This love island is the real thing

Romance is alive and well on the tiny island of Muhu, as Joanne O'Connor discovered when she gatecrashed a proposal at Estonia's loveliest hotel.

I'm standing next to a grand piano in a candlelit room singing backing vocals, while an Estonian man in a white towelling bathrobe and slippers serenades his fiancee. Imre, the hotel owner, is playing the piano, while my friend Carole and I fill in with the harmonies. I have no idea how this happened. And from the bewildered look on the fiancee's face, neither has she.

The serenade is the climax of, quite possibly, the most elaborate marriage proposal ever. It began with a meal for two on the hotel's wooden jetty, looking out across the sparkling waters of the bay. This was followed by champagne in the seawater hot tub on the beach under a pink twilight sky, where the question was popped. The dripping bride-to-be was then carried from the hot tub to the hotel lounge, where she was greeted by a rendition of Van Morrison's 'Have I Told You Lately ?' so flat that it made Holland look like the Himalayas.

Of course, she said yes. How could she not ? Padaste Manor is the kind of hotel that could squeeze romance from the stoniest heart.

On the tiny Estonian island of Muhu, just ..........

Edgar Savisaar and Center Party pushes for EEK 25 000 salary !

Election time means time for big promises, and Estonia’s Centre Party led by Edgar Savisaar announced last week that the average monthly salary in Estonia should be raised to 25,000 kroons (1,600 euros) over a period of four years (this includes the salaries of bureaucrats and civil servants). “If we want to be among Europe’s wealthiest, we must first reach the middle,” said Mr. Savisaar.

Savisaar’s opposition says the state has nowhere near this kind of money and points out that the state may only raise salaries of civil servants, other salaries dependent on the market economy. Taavi Veskimägi, former finance minister, suggested anyone who believed the promise of 25,000 kroons was “light-minded.”

Or how to distinguish the good from the bad .... !

* Last week, the Estonian business daily Äripäev published the results of a survey on the most- and least-trusted politicians and businessmen in the country. The 16,000 people polled ranked the people in the order below. Perhaps the results should be viewed philosophically (the good and bad in all of us), though we tend to view them as indicative of a terribly confused populace. In all cases, it’s enough to make your head spin.

Most Trusted Politicians

1. Toomas Hendrik Ilves (Euro parliamentarian and presidential candidate)
2. Andrus Ansip (PM)
3. Mart Laar (former PM and winner of the Friedman Award)
4. Arnold Rüütel (President)
5. Villu Reiljan (Minister of Environment)

Least Trusted Politicians

1. Edgar Savisaar (MP and head of Centre Party)
2. Villu Reiljan
3. Mart Laar
4. Arnold Rüütel
5. Toomas Hendrik Ilves
6. Andrus Ansip

Most Trusted Businessmen

1. Urmas Sõõrumaa (chief of Falck)
2. Oliver Kruuda (owner of Kalev Chocolate)
3. Toomas Luman (head of Estonian chamber of commerce and construction company owner)
4. Ain Hanschmidt (part-owner of Tallink)
5. Toomas Annus (Merko construction)
6. Jüri Käo (part owner of Estonian Railways)

Least Trusted Businessmen

1. Ain Hanschmidt
2. Urmas Sõõrumaa
3. Oliver Kruuda
4. Jüri Käo
5. Toomas Annus
6. Toomas Luman

Or maybe it simply is that most interviewed people only knew (or even, had heard of) these politicians and businessmen, and no others ..... ! And it would show that the wide populace doesn't care that much about it all .... !

Presidential candidates trade insults

* The Centre Party’s chairman Edgar Savisaar said Tuesday in a TV broadcast that if Toomas Hendrik Ilves were elected president, the president’s chancellery would not be led by Ilves but rather by his advisors.

Ilves took the broadside and then retaliated, commenting that if he were elected president, he would be led only by the Estonian constitution. Point, game, set, and match to Mr. Ilves.