SPEECH ON 106TH ANNIVERSARY OF ESTONIA’S INDEPENDENCE
Sydney Estonian House
Sulev Kalamäe, Honorary Consul of Estonia, Sydney
Kallid Eestlased ja austatud külalised! Dear Estonians and our distinguished guests.
Happy 106th Anniversary of Estonian Independence Day! Elagu Eesti Vabariik!
As we are all aware, February 24 is the birth date of the Estonian Declaration of Independence, a birthday celebrated every year since 1918, when, just after the October Revolution of 1917, the Estonian people commenced a two year long war of independence, to win the right to exist as a sovereign nation.
Our ancestors fought hard and eventually won this battle against the Russians and the Germans over a century ago. However I’m now conscious of two subsequent and sad historical twists:
The first is, that by the time construction of the new Sydney Estonian House hall was finished in mid 1940 and Independence Day was first celebrated within these walls 83 years ago on 24 February 1941, by that time Soviet troops already had rolled into Estonia in the previous June 1940, to begin another 50 years of occupation. It was not until 1991, that our local Sydney Estonian community could once again celebrate the existence of a truly free and independent Estonia within this hall.
Secondly, our nation’s happy birthday date of February 24, has now a second much sader significance – this year today now marks the second anniversary of the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by the Russians. The attack on Ukraine is a continuation of the imperialism that Russia has displayed for centuries. Despite the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of Soviet communism in 1991, it is now obvious to the world that Russia’s mindset towards it’s neighbours has never fundamentally changed.
One consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is that it has caused people in Estonia, people here in Australia, many people here in this very hall – to question and try to better understand what they truly value – both as individuals, and as nations. Recent events in Ukraine and the Middle East have forced us – as fellow human brings, as husband and wives, as mums and dads – to contemplate, not only what kind of a nation we want to live in, but how much worse our lives might be – if we don’t stand up for our values, stand up for the principles of sovereignty and preserve a rules-based international order.
106 years ago today Estonia’s forefathers had to consider these very same issues, when they made their fateful decision to declare their independence as a nation, and fight for their values, their way of life – to achieve independence and sovereignty. Today we salute them for their vision, their principles and their courage!
Nüüd pakkun teile kõik siin täna, pits viina EV terviseks. Kas klaasid on täis?
Palju õnne Eesti Vabariik!
Elagu Eesti!
Second Speech
Like probably some of you within this room may already have done – I have recently been going through my late father’s possessions including boxes of memorbillia from WWII and his first years in Australia.
He has kept many personal items that meant a lot to him, including a beautiful expensive book on Harald Nügiseks a great Estonian war of WWII, whom he greatly admired.
Here I am looking at this book and asking, myself – shall I keep it, or shall I throw it out?
For my my children and grandchildren, don’t know who Nugiseks was, the book has no relevance to them. Even though he fought and lived passionately, and risked his life for Estonia, they are in all fairness oblivious to this man. They would probably be more interested in a book about someone more modern, like Taylor Swift, and even then, they probably don’t even really appreciate printed books – most of today’s body of knowledge is virtual and all resides in the internet.
Why I am bringing this matter up, is that for me, I think this is a perfect example of as how time marches on, and what is important, critical, vital, essential to one generation, is often gradually diluted, become irrelevant and eventually forgotten one or two generations alltogether.
So in short the beautiful book on Nugiseks is probably eventually going to the tip.
It’s sad how time as it marches on is generally not kind to the past, we humans are naturally far more interested in the present, our immediate surroundings, and current political events. Things that effect our present well-being and prosperity and happiness.
But on occasions like today, we need to be reminded about the past to reflect on our current situation, and ultimately our future.
We need to remember and honour those who have gone before us.
Particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Today I would like to remember and honour Konstatin Pats.
Today I would like to remember and honour our fathers and mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers who lived through the most turbulent ja horrific times during WWII and made the post war migration to this lovely continent.
I respect the hard work they put in to create this Estonian Community we have here in Sydney. This Estonian House did not somehow miraculiulosly appear of it’s own volition. Decades ago people – just like you and me, but now long deceased – put their hand in their wallets and volunteered their services to build this house and create the Eest Selts we now have. As others before you have done all the hard work – you are now enjoying the physical benefits of their love of Estonia and all things Estonian.
But I digress. Whilst I stand here and romaticise about the past, there is one other person in this world who also has a tremendous respect and yearning for the past – namely Valdimir Putin. He pines for the glory of the former Soviet Union and of the old Czarist Russian Empire. By launching a full-scale attack on the independent soverign nation of Ukraine two years ago today, this man has up-ended the rules-based world order a half century of relative peace and caused Europe to embark on the biggest rearmanent program since WWII.
Estonia now faces the biggest security threat to it’s existence, since reindependence was acheived in 1991. Sadly it is not just Putin who thinks this way, the majority of the Russian population seems to have drunk from the same well of imperialistic lust, they seek to restore their hegemony over Easterm Europe and the Baltic States.
So far Estonia is lucky that we are not only in the European Union, but also in NATO. This has probably saved us from the same fate as Ukraine.
But nothing is certain anymore, we live in troubled times with a United States more internally divided than ever, and thus casting potential questions over it’s future strategic assistance to Europe, should the Russian Federation ever invade.
I believe that during the next twelve months, the outcome of the US elections will probably bring some clarity in one way or another.
In the meantime we must pray that Estonia continues to be lead by strong leaders like Kaja Kallas, who the press are apparently loving, and labelling as the new Iron Lady of Europe.
As our Prime Minster Kaja Kallas has said
“Let us ask [ourselves] do we grasp the magnitude of what is happening in Ukraine and what is at stake here? Is our response adequate, and what indeed would be the price of failure?”
Estonian Prime Minster Kaja Kallas
Sulev Kalamäe presents Letters of Appreciation from the Foreign Minister of Estonia
