Lithuanians deal blow to austerity, nuclear plans

October 15, 2012

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Dealing a blow to the conservative government's vision of becoming a regional energy powerhouse, Lithuanians voted instead for big-spending politicians and rejected plans for a new nuclear power plant.

The populist Labor Party, led by a Russian-born millionaire, won Sunday's election in this Baltic nation with 20 percent of the vote, while the center-left Social Democrats came in second with 18.5 percent. The two have agreed to form a new government to replace the center-right coalition, which managed just over 23 percent of the vote.

The exact composition of the next 141-seat Parliament is still not clear pending some run-off votes on Oct. 28, but Labor and the Socialists are expected to gain a majority. Still, analysts said Monday that the two parties, which campaigned on exorbitant promises, were unlikely to make any radical policy departures, although they would likely slow down harsh fiscal measures needed to introduce the euro in 2014, one of the conservative coalition's goals.

"Promises that the new government will stop saving and start spending big-time are unrealistic," said Nerijus Maciulis, analyst at Swedbank. "Otherwise Lithuania will soon find itself in a situation similar to Greece."

Analysts at Danske Bank agreed, writing in a Monday note that "leftist parties campaigned on a relatively populist and pro-interventionist plank ...however we expect the new coalition government to tone down the rhetoric."

In 2009, Lithuania suffered a shocking double-whammy, as its economy entered a severe recession, plunging nearly 15 percent, and a Soviet-era atomic power plant was shut down, forcing the country to switch to Russian gas.

The nation of 3 million people now imports over 60 percent of its electricity needs — more than any other European Union member. Russia currently supplies 100 percent of Lithuania's natural gas at a hefty price.

Previous governments, including those led by the Social Democrats prior to the conservative administration, dreamed of building a new, ultra-modern nuclear plant that would allow Lithuania to maintain its traditional role as an energy exporter.

But voters seemed to dash those hopes, with nearly two-thirds rejecting the idea of a new nuclear facility Sunday due to concerns about cost and safety. Although the referendum was only consultative, politicians from the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia — who are participating in the $6 billion project along with Japan's Hitachi— could find it difficult to proceed after the Lithuanian vote.

"Russia's wish for the Baltics not to have an atomic power plant has won," Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks tweeted. Analysts, however, said Lithuania could still find ways to decrease its energy dependence on Russia without having to build a €5-billion nuclear plant, perhaps by completing a terminal to import liquefied natural gas.

"In fact, a liquefied gas terminal creates much more serious competition for Moscow than a nuclear power plant," said Vidmantas Jankauskas, a professor at Gediminas Technical University in Vilnius, the capital.

He said the offshore gas terminal, which Lithuania hopes to complete by 2014, is expected to handle up to 4 billion cubic meters per year, more than enough to meet the country's annual gas needs. Suspicion of Russia still runs high among many Lithuanians, who remember decades of repression under the Soviets. Labor Party chief Viktor Upsakich, a Russian-born veteran politician who was forced to resign as economy minister in 2006 because of shady dealings with Lithuania's powerful neighbor, tried to calm fears that his win would bring the country closer into Russia's orbit.

"We will work to have good, pragmatic relations not only with this country but other neighbors, too," he said. "I must stress that everything should be done in the interests of our country and not at the cost of Lithuania's sovereignty."

Opposition expected to gain in Lithuanian ballot

October 14, 2012

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuanians are expected to deal a double-blow to the incumbent conservative government in national elections Sunday by handing a victory to opposition leftists and populists and saying no to a new nuclear power plant that supporters claim would boost the country's energy independence.

Exhausted after years of budget cuts, high unemployment, and declining living standards, Lithuanians were likely to opt for either the Social Democrats or Order and Justice, a populist party led by a former president impeached eight years ago, according to pre-election polls.

The government of Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius took over at the end of 2008 and was immediately forced to cut spending and raise taxes to fend off a crushing economic decline that followed years of robust growth. Though Lithuania has avoided defaulting on its debts, its citizens have felt the financial pinch and seen their standard of living fall sharply.

Despite an uptick in economic activity last year, unemployment was 13.3 percent in the second quarter. Tens of thousands of people have fled the country to seek jobs elsewhere in the European Union, leading to one of the sharpest demographic declines in all of Europe.

"Some call it austerity measures, but Kubilius' methods seem like genocide to me. What they did to our country will take years to restore. The tax system is crazy...people are fleeing the country. This must stop before it's too late," said Vytautas Klimka, 65, outside a voting station in downtown Vilnius.

Though 141 seats are up for grabs, only half are determined by party lists, while the others are single-mandate districts that, in the absence of a majority winner, will require a run-off vote between the top two finalists on Oct. 28. Only then will a clear picture emerge as to what the next coalition could look like.

Lithuanians will also express their opinion on whether the next government should proceed with plans to build a new nuclear power plant, one that would replace a Soviet-era facility that closed in 2009.

Although the referendum is non-binding, a large "no" vote could torpedo plans to build the plant along with neighbors Estonia and Latvia. Supporters say the new plant, which would be built by Japan's Hitachi, is needed to ensure the region's energy independence. But many Lithuanians fear that the project, which has an estimated 5 billion euro ($6 billion) price tag, will shackle the country of 3 million people with overbearing debt.

Others have safety concerns, especially in light of the earthquake and tsunami disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant last year. "I do not want my country to become a playground for Lithuanian and Japanese nuclear business games. Let them have their own Fukushimas. We had already had one of our own — a disaster in Chernobyl," Danute Cekanaviciene, a 52-year-old designer, said in reference to the 1986 Soviet nuclear accident.

Lithuania, an ex-Soviet state, relies predominantly on Russian gas for energy. Energy prices increased 20 percent earlier this year, and utilities have warned that this winter will be the most expensive yet.

The most recent poll, which was taken in May, showed that two-thirds of Lithuanians opposed building a new atomic power plant.

Latvians reject Russian as national language

February 19, 2012 — RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvian voters resoundingly rejected a proposal to give official status to Russian, the mother tongue of their former Soviet occupiers, though the referendum defeated Saturday is expected to leave scars on an already divided society.

Russian is the first language for about one-third of the Baltic country's 2.1 million people, and many of them would like to accord official status to the language to reverse what they claim has been 20 years of discrimination.

But for ethnic Latvians, the referendum was a brazen attempt to encroach on Latvia's independence, which was restored two decades ago after a half-century of occupation by the Soviet Union following World War II.

Many Latvians still consider Russian — the lingua franca of the Soviet Union — as the language of the former occupiers. They also harbor deep mistrust toward Russia and worry that Moscow attempts to wield influence in Latvia through the ethnic Russian minority.

"Latvia is the only place throughout the world where Latvian is spoken, so we have to protect it," said Martins Dzerve, 37, in Riga, Latvia's capital. "But Russian is everywhere." With over 93 percent of ballots counted, 75 percent of voters said they were against Russian as a national language, according to the Central Election Commission results.

However, in the eastern region of Latgale, which straddles the border with Russia, a majority of voters approved changing the constitution to make Russian a national language. The region is Latvia's poorest and has a high percentage of ethnic Russians and other minorities.

"Society is divided into two classes — one half has full rights, and the other half's rights are violated," said Aleksejs Yevdokimovs, 36. "The Latvian half always employs a presumption of guilt toward the Russian half, so that we have to prove things that shouldn't need to be proven," he said.

The referendum sparked high voter participation, with more than 70 percent of registered voters casting ballots — considerably higher more than in previous elections and referendums. Long lines were seen at many precincts both in Latvia and abroad, with voters in London reportedly braving a three-hour wait.

In Chicago, Mara Varpa, 57, said she voted against the proposal since Latvian is an integral part of the national identity and should therefore remain the sole official language. "I don't think there should have been a referendum to begin with because it's already in the constitution, but since there was I had to vote," Varpa said.

Though the Russians who spearheaded the referendum admitted they had no chance at winning the plebiscite, they at least hope the approximate 25 percent of support will force Latvia's center-right government to begin a dialogue with national minorities.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians, Belorussians and Ukrainians moved to Latvia and the neighboring Baltic republics during the population transfers of the Soviet regime. Many of them never learned Latvian and were denied citizenship when Latvia regained independence, meaning they don't have the right to vote or work in government.

According to the current law, anyone who moved to Latvia during the Soviet occupation, or was born to parents who moved there, is considered a noncitizen and must pass the Latvian language exam in order to become a citizen.

There are approximately 300,000 noncitizens in Latvia. Politicians and analysts said the plebiscite will widen the schism in society and that the government will have to undertake serious efforts to consolidate the country's two groups.

Many fear the disgruntled minority will keep up the pressure by calling for more referendums to change Latvia's constitution for minorities' benefit.

Associated Press writer Tim Jacobs in Chicago contributed to this report.

Racist Marxist police thugs brutally murdered peaceful Armenian lawyer, protesting at Estonian defense ministry

11 August 2011

According to news reports from Marxist Estonia, after a peaceful Armenian protester set off a smoke bomb at the defense ministry in Estonia's capital Tallinn, he was immediately murdered by brutal racist Marxist police as police thugs moved in, officials said on Thursday.

The precise demand of the anti-militarist protesters are concealed by ruling Marxists. They named the lawyer as Karen Drambjan and said he was born in 1954, without giving a precise birth date.

The Marxist police that always lie in every Marxist country had initially said the man took two hostages, but in a later statement it said the people were caught in the building when it was evacuated and were later freed.

"The unknown man who entered the Ministry of Defense building slightly after three in the afternoon today was killed in the course of the joint operation carried out by the police and the Security Police," the statement said. "Nobody else suffered any injuries."

Police thugs denied the man committed suicide, as had been lied by some officials earlier. The Marxist prosecutor's office said the man had no link with the armed forces.

"The motive of his action has remained unclear," Marxist prime minister Andrus Ansip was quoted by a local news agency as saying.

Estonian media said the racist police victim Drambjan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, held a university degree in law and owned a small law firm. He had joined a small left-wing political party.

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/08/11/14934.shtml.

Estonian bicyclists freed in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 14 (UPI) -- Seven Estonian bicyclists kidnapped earlier this year were released Thursday in Lebanon, though sources said Beirut had no prior knowledge of the operation.

The cyclists were captured by gunmen in late March after crossing the Syrian border into Lebanon.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Renaissance and Reform Movement issued an e-mail statement to Lebanese media demanding an unspecified ransom and Lebanese authorities had expressed concern that Syria might be behind the abductions.

Security officials told The Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon that the bicyclists were released Thursday from Hezbollah strongholds in the south of the country.

French authorities took charge of the former captives and took them to the French Embassy in Beirut.

Denis Pietton, the French envoy to Beirut, told the newspaper the cyclists' release came as a result of "efforts undertaken solely by Lebanon and Estonia." A source told the newspaper, however, that Beirut didn't know about the operation until the French came forward with their release.

French Embassy officials said the Estonians would be handed to their foreign minister who was on his way to Beirut. The Lebanese newspaper noted the men appeared in good health as they waved from the balcony of the French Embassy.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/07/14/Estonian-bicyclists-freed-in-Lebanon/UPI-59611310649034/.

Video shows seven kidnapped Estonians appealing for help

Apr 20, 2011

Beirut - A Lebanese website on Wednesday obtained video footage showing the seven Estonian tourists who were kidnapped in Lebanon on March 23 appealing for help.

The footage posted by the Lebanon Files news portal showed the seven appealing to outgoing premier Saad Hariri, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz, Jordan's King Abdullah and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to help secure their release.

'Please do anything to help us get back home. Please make everything to return us to our families as soon as possible,' one the them is heard saying.

On March 31, a previously unknown group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the Estonians near the town of Zahle in the Bekaa Valley, shortly after crossing the border from Syria during a cycling holiday.

The group calling itself Haraket El Nahda Wal Islah (Movement of Renewal and Reforms) demanded a ransom in the claim sent via email to Lebanon Files.

Source: Monsters and Critics.
Link: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1634170.php/Video-shows-seven-kidnapped-Estonians-appealing-for-help.

Latvians get hip to their hippo's secret after 22 years: he's a she

Tue, 04 Jan 2011

Riga - It turns out there's a very good reason why Latvian zoo officials haven't been able to get any offspring out of their pair of hippopotamuses for the last 22 years.

Their him was a her.

Officials at Riga Zoo in Latvia confirmed a long-held suspicion Tuesday when they announced that a male hippopotamus they had been hoping to mate for the last 22 years was in fact female, the Baltic News Service reported.

The hippo named Funtiks was given to the zoo in 1990 by the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Despite repeated attempts to interest "him" in the attractions of the zoo's resident female Augustine, Funtiks had never managed to muster the necessary enthusiasm to produce the pitter-patter of little hippo feet.

Zoo workers had always harbored suspicions that Funtiks may not have been all that he seemed, said Riga zoo spokeswoman Laura Lidaka. Determining a hippo's sex is notoriously difficult.

With the help of German experts, it had finally been established that the he-hippo was in fact a she-hippo.

As a result of the discovery, made with the help of German experts, Funtiks has belatedly been renamed Funta.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360695,years-hes-a-she.html.

Lithuania wants joint European response to Belarus

Tue, 04 Jan 2011

Vilnius - Lithuanian Foreign Minster Audronius Azubalis, whose country chairs the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) this year, said Tuesday that a joint European response was needed to recent disputed elections in Belarus.

"We are keeping doors open and are holding consultations with the Belorussians," Azubalis told a news conference at which Lithuania outlined its priorities for its 12-month tenure at the OSCE's helm.

Azubalis also confirmed that he had discussed on the situation in Belarus with Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

"We spoke about finding an adequate and unified response," Azubalis told reporters without confirming whether or not he was in favor of renewing any form of sanctions against the Lukashenko regime following its latest brutal crackdown on the opposition.

The OSCE has harshly criticized Belarus for the December 19 poll in which incumbent President Aleksander Lukashenko won a landslide fourth term in office.

Last week, Minsk refused to renew the OSCE's mandate to maintain an office the Belorussian capital.

Azubalis said on Monday that he had started "informal consultations to find an agreement acceptable to all" that would allow the OSCE to continue its work in the country.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360693,joint-european-response-belarus.html.

Estonia joins crisis-hit euro club

By David Mardiste – Sat Jan 1

TALLINN (Reuters) – Estonia switched smoothly to the euro on Saturday, brushing off worries about a crisis in the currency club which is likely to put off bigger eastern European nations from joining for up to a decade.

The Baltic state of 1.3 million became the 17th euro zone country at midnight and was the first former Soviet state to adopt the euro, capping 20 years of integration with the West.

Estonia sees the change as marking the end of its struggles since a 2009 recession lopped 14 percent off its output. It hopes to entice investors by removing fears of devaluation and make borrowing more secure for its people, many of whose mortgages are already in euros from top Nordic banks.

"It is a small step for the euro zone and a big step for Estonia," said Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, who was the first to take euros out of a specially installed cash machine.

"We are proud to be a euro zone member state."

The central bank, whose governor will now help decide euro zone interest rates, said the changeover was smooth.

"The money reached ATMs and retail stores in time at the end of the year," said deputy central bank head Rein Minka.

Estonia will be the currency club's poorest member but its debt and deficit levels -- the cause of the crisis for some euro zone members -- are among the lowest in the bloc.

In economic terms, the single currency bloc will barely notice the addition -- Estonia's GDP is 0.2 percent of the euro zone's 8.9 trillion euros.

EASTERN SKEPTICS

Poland, Hungary and other eastern European EU states are skeptical about joining the euro. They have all promised to join one day but want to see how the debt problems of Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal are solved.

They also fear that losing flexible exchange rates will make them less competitive and less able to fight financial crisis.

Polish central bank governor Marek Belka told newspaper Super Express Poland would join when there was "order" in the euro zone. "In the euro zone there are dramatic things happening, so why rush?" he said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has said the euro would not be to the country's advantage for a long time. Economists say the larger eastern EU nations may now not join before 2019-2020.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy used New Year addresses to show support for the euro.

"The euro is the foundation of our prosperity," said Merkel. "Germany needs Europe and our common currency ... We Germans assume our responsibility, even when it is sometimes very hard."

With a similar history of Nazi and Soviet occupation, all three Baltic states made joining Western structures their goals and joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.

Latvia and Lithuania hope to adopt the euro in 2014 and have had their currencies pegged to the euro for years.

The kroon will be converted at the rate of 15.6466 at which the currency was pegged to the euro. They will circulate together as legal tender for two weeks.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Lannin in Stockholm; Editing by Patrick Graham, Lin Noueihed and Padraic Cassidy)

Estonia ready to join the eurozone

Fri, 31 Dec 2010

Tallinn - Estonia made last minute preparations Friday for its entry into the eurozone, with officials insisting everything was going according to plan.

At the stroke of midnight, the small Baltic state with a population of 1.3 million will become the 17th member of the pan- European monetary bloc. It will also become the first former Soviet republic to do so.

Most cash machines in Estonia have been offline since Thursday as banks reprogram and refill them with fresh euro notes.

The country's largest bank, Swedbank, described the changeover process as "the biggest and most complicated project in Estonian banking history" and said that in keeping with other banks it would be extending branch opening hours over the weekend to help customers through the transition.

Riho Unt, chairman of the Estonian Banking Association said there was no need to worry about the currency switch. "People do not have any necessity to rush to the money exchanges," he said.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is due to make the first withdrawal of euro notes from a cash machine shortly after midnight in an act that will be broadcast live on Estonian television.

The currency which has served Estonia so well since 1992, the kroon, will continue to be accepted in shops until January 14, after which only the euro will be accepted as legal tender. However, the Estonian central bank has promised to exchange kroons for euros indefinitely.

The Estonian capital, Tallinn, will host a double celebration as the city will also become a European Capital of Culture for 2011. An unprecedented number of foreign journalists have descended on the city in what organizers describe as "the largest worldwide media interest ever seen in Estonia."

One means of marking both important events has been installed in the center of the city where a robotic cow built by Tallinn University of Technology's Center of Biorobotics and local artists is enabling members of the public to exchange kroons for euros in a novel manner.

A one-kroon coin has to be inserted into the cow's mouth. After a short delay a one-euro coin drops out of the cow's other end.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/360250,estonia-ready-join-eurozone.html.

Lithuania's gay pride parade sparks protest - Summary

Vilnius - The Baltic Pride gay parade took place in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius Saturday, with hundreds of participants facing off against thousands of anti-gay protesters.

A heavy police contingent backed up by strategic road closures kept the opposing parties on opposite banks of the River Neris.

The parade was given a last-minute go-ahead Friday, after an an earlier court-imposed ban.

Organizers said they hoped the parade would draw attention to intolerance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals in staunchly Roman Catholic Lithuania.

The protesters claimed the parade glorified homosexuality at the expense of traditional family values.

"Lithuania is a democracy. We are not a barbaric country, but this sort of thing should be kept private," said a protester who gave his name as Domatas.

Around 3,000 protesters lined the banks of the river Neris and occupied an area around the landmark Reval hotel.

Most simply stood and watched, but a few chanted slogans including "Death to gays" and "Lithuania for Lithuanians" and expressed anger towards President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Trouble briefly threatened to flare when the protesters threw water bottles into police lines and set off a smoke bomb, but with riot police lining up for action the crowd calmed.

Vilnius county police chief Kestutis Lancinskas said 19 people had been arrested for public order offenses including carrying offensive weapons.

Two members of the Lithuanian parliament were among those detained. The MPs would be charged with attempting to incite a riot, Lancinskas told reporters.

A member of Germany's parliament, Volker Beck, who was among the marchers, told the German Press Agency dpa he was attending Baltic Pride in order to put pressure on the Lithuanian government.

"This is a signal to the Lithuanian government that we are in Europe and lesbian and gay people have equal rights. I would like it if German people would have the courage to do the same," Beck said.

"Gay and lesbian people don't ask for something special, just for the protection of their human rights," he added.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322646,lithuanias-gay-pride-parade-sparks-protest--summary.html.

Lithuanian court bans gay pride parade - Summary

Vilnius - A court in Lithuania Wednesday banned a parade of gay and lesbian groups in the capital, Vilnius, which was due to take place this weekend.

The court's ruling - that the event could lead to public disturbances - was branded "beyond understanding" by gay rights associations.

Vilnius County Administrative Court annulled a license permitting the Baltic Pride parade issued by the Vilnius municipal authorities in response to a submission from acting prosecutor general Raimondas Petrauskas.

He claimed that allowing the parade of groups from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia could lead to public disturbances.

"We have reason to believe that the state will not be able to provide proper protection for the participants," the submission said.

Vytautas Valentinavicius, chairman of the Tolerant Youth Association, one of the organizers of the rally, told the Baltic News Service the court's decision was "beyond understanding" and that he would seek legal advice on an appeal.

Tensions in staunchly Catholic Lithuania have been steadily rising ahead of the Baltic Pride parade, which forms part of a five-day festival and conference on the subject of equal rights for sexual minorities.

Official opposition to the event has attracted widespread international criticism of Lithuania.

On April 4 human rights organization Amnesty International issued a statement calling on Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite to voice support for Baltic Pride.

"The banning of the march, or the failure to ensure the safety of its participants, would send a signal to all Lithuanians, and the rest of the world, that human rights are only selectively upheld there," Amnesty International said.

A spokesman for Grybauskaite told BNS Wednesday she was "surprised" by the prosecutor general's concerns given that police had said they were ready to guarantee public safety and "astonished" by the lack of communication between different parts of the state apparatus.

Lithuania has recently also come under attack for introducing legislation called the Law on Protection of Minors from the Detrimental Effects of Public Information, which civil rights groups claimed was explicitly anti-gay.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322140,lithuanian-court-bans-gay-pride-parade--summary.html.

Latvian parliament approves new foreign minister

Riga - Parliamentarians in Latvia approved the appointment of a new foreign minister Thursday - ending more than a month of uncertainty surrounding one of the most important jobs in government.

The new foreign minister is Aivis Ronis, a non-partisan career diplomat who has previously served as Latvia's ambassador to the United Nations and NATO. Ronis has said previously he would take the job only until a general election in October as he has no desire to enter politics.

Incumbent foreign minister Maris Riekstins had carried on in the job in a caretaker capacity after submitting his resignation along with three other ministers on March 22 when his political party decided to withdraw from the coalition government of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis.

Speaking to MPs ahead of the vote on Ronis' appointment, Dombrovskis said Latvia needed to resolve the issue to maintain its international standing.

Ronis won the backing of parliament with 90 votes in favor, no votes against and one abstention.

However, two other top positions at the health and justice ministries remain vacant while the resignation of Edgars Zalans at the regional development ministry led to the liquidation of the ministry.

The approval of Ronis as foreign minister will provide some cheer to Dombrovskis' increasingly embattled minority government.

A parliamentary vote on April 15 on the re-appointment of prosecutor general Janis Maizitis produced a shock result when his candidacy was rejected in a secret ballot.

Yet both before and after the vote, a majority of MPs claimed they had supported him, making it clear that many of them had simply lied, a situation Dombrovskis described as "shameful."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321147,latvian-parliament-approves-new-foreign-minister.html.

NATO foreign ministers gather in Tallinn - Update

Tallinn - The foreign ministers of NATO's 28 members gathered in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Thursday for two days of informal talks on alliance expansion and reform, nuclear weapons and the handover of security in Afghanistan to local forces.

Delivering a keynote speech to launch the discussions, NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance should work to develop a joint missile defense shield and make greater use of common funding, while continuing its mission in Afghanistan.

The alliance "must retain a nuclear capability as long as there are rogue regimes or terrorist groupings that may pose a nuclear threat to us" Fogh Rasmussen said.

"We also need a credible missile defense system providing coverage for all the allies," he added.

National missile defense systems could be connected into "a NATO- wide missile shield to protect all our allies that would be a very powerful demonstration of NATO solidarity in the twenty first century," Fogh Rasmussen said, expressing hope that progress on the issue would be made by the time of the next NATO summit meeting.

Rasmussen also urged the alliance to make greater use of common funding sources instead of present arrangements in which member states pay for their own deployments.

Common funding of NATO activities represents less than half a percent of the defense budgets of all 28 members, Rasmussen said.

"I personally would like to see a much greater use of common funding to finance our alliance and our operations," he said, citing examples of countries willing to send troops or equipment to NATO operations but lacking the cash to do so.

Describing Afghanistan as the most challenging military operation NATO has ever undertaken, Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance was prepared to stay in the country "as long as it takes" to achieve stability.

NATO leaders are due to meet in Lisbon in November to draw up a new strategy for the alliance, and the foreign ministers' meeting is intended to start the debate on the main issues.

The last time NATO drew up an overall strategy was a decade ago, before world-changing events such as the terrorist attacks on New York of September 11, 2001, or NATO's decision to take the lead in the UN-mandated security mission in Afghanistan.

Ministers are also set to debate the question of whether Bosnia has done enough to merit a NATO membership action plan (MAP).

In December, the ministers said that Bosnia would be given a MAP once its leaders proved that they were able to work with one another. The alliance is divided over whether recent moves by the Bosnian presidency were enough to justify a MAP.

On Thursday evening, they are set to debate the question of nuclear disarmament and missile defense, following the recent arms- control deal between the US and Russia.

On Friday, ministers are set to discuss relations with Russia and the best way to hand over responsibility for security in Afghanistan to local forces.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320014,nato-foreign-ministers-gather-in-tallinn--update.html.

Russian councilor petitions for town to join Estonia

Tallinn - A Russian councilor in the border town of Ivangorod is collecting signatures in support of the community becoming part of Estonia, the Estonian daily newspaper Postimees reported Thursday.

Yuri Gordeyev, 66, said he has collected 650 signatures calling for a referendum on the matter, as part of a protest against budget cuts by Russian authorities.

Copies of his petition have reportedly been sent to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Rather than being a serious attempt to secede from Russia, the petition is intended to draw attention to funding differences in Ivangorod and Narva on the easternmost edge of the European Union, Gordeyev said.

"I understand very well that this will never happen as no one would allow us to do such a thing," Gordeyev said.

Ivangorod is separated from the Estonian town of Narva by a bridge across the River Narva and was part of Estonia until the Baltic state was occupied by Soviet forces in 1940.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317652,russian-councillor-petitions-for-town-to-join-estonia.html.

Latvian government coalition collapses after a year

Riga - The Baltic state of Latvia faced political uncertainty Wednesday after the largest party in the ruling five- party coalition announced it was pulling out of government. The People's Party said it could no longer cooperate with Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis of the New Era party after he refused to sign a four-point economic action plan drawn up by People's Party leader and former prime minister Andris Skele.

"We made the decision to leave because the prime minister did not give us a response of any substance to the points we raised," said Skele after a party meeting.

A statement released shortly afterward accused Dombrovskis of being "indecisive" and misleading the public.

The People's Party's serving ministers, which include Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins, would take no further part in government meetings and would tender their resignations, Skele said.

With general elections due on October 2, Dombrovskis and his remaining allies face the prospect of surviving for six months as a minority administration with control of just 47 seats in the 100-seat parliament or Saeima.

Earlier on Wednesday, Dombrovskis released the text of an open letter to People's Party members calling on them to put the good of the country before pre-election jockeying.

He also warned about the possible effects of a party political walk-out on the economy.

"Any contradictions in the government are immediately reflected in the financial markets, and they directly affect the fiscal stability our country...a policy that is truly responsible for the country cannot be self-centered," Dombrovskis said.

Dombrovskis was installed as prime minister on March 12, 2009 when the government of Ivars Godmanis collapsed after Latvia plunged into the deepest recession in the European Union.

One of Dombrovskis' first acts was to say Latvia was on the verge of bankruptcy, after which he managed to rescue a faltering 7.5- billion-euro (10-billion-dollar) loan package involving money from the European Union, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and regional governments.

In the intervening 12 months, Dombrovskis has successfully negotiated several crucial parliamentary votes to keep Latvia's assistance package on track despite rebellions by the People's Party.

However wage cuts and big reductions in public spending, plus continuing recession mean many Latvians are hard-pressed to make ends meet. The economy contracted by 18 per cent during 2009 and one in five of the working population is unemployed.

Asked on March 11 if he would still be in power at the time of the election, Dombrovskis said the probability was "more than 50 per cent" and that the public understood his program of austerity measures was necessary.

The People's Party is keen to promote itself as the party of an economic revival, even though many Latvians regard it as being largely responsible for the recession in the first place.

Even while it was still in government, the party was holding discussions with the opposition LPP/LC party about forming a new "Business party" that some have already branded the "Oligarch Party" owing to the involvement of both Skele and former transport minister Ainars Slesers, two of the richest men in the country.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/314547,latvian-government-coalition-collapses-after-a-year.html.

Nazi-hunter calls for ban on Latvian SS commemoration - Summary

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

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Riga - As a representative of the world's leading Nazi hunter denounced a controversial commemoration of local Waffen-SS troops in Latvia, authorities on Monday lifted a ban on the parade. Authorities decided to allow both the parade by the Latvian Legion and a counter-demonstration by anti-fascist groups, saying that the two events, planned for Tuesday, did not represent threats to security.

Earlier Monday, Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the commemoration.

"Ban the march, enforce the ban and explain to the people that maybe these people were thinking they were fighting for Latvia but the real beneficiary of their service and their bravery was Nazi Germany," Zuroff told the German Press Agency dpa.

Zuroff was speaking on the sidelines of a conference in the Latvian capital entitled "World War II and the Holocaust," sponsored by the World Congress of Russian Jewry.

Describing attempts by Central and Eastern European countries to equate the Holocaust and crimes committed by post-war Communist regimes as "total hogwash," Zuroff said the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in particular were guilty of an attempt to "rewrite history."

"With all my empathy for victims of Communism, the crimes of Communism simply are not the same as the Holocaust. Part of this is fueled by a desire to deflect attention for the extensive collaboration with the Nazis during World War II and their post- independence failure to bring these people to justice," Zuroff told...

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/314205,nazi-hunter-calls-for-ban-on-latvian-ss-commemoration--summary.html.