1ST LEAD: Estonian government must step down: Duma committee head

Monday, April 30, 2007 at 13:55
Subject: /Estonia-Demos/Russia/

Eds: Adds Estonian statement, reaction

Moscow (dpa) – The head of a Russian parliamentary committee Monday called on the Estonian government to step down saying it has exacerbated the row over a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, the capital of the formerly Soviet state.

“Our opinion is that the Estonian government must resign. It is obvious that the government provoked the crisis and failed to cope with the unrest in which one person was killed,” head of the parliamentary Veterans’ Committee Nikolai Kovalyov told journalists before departing for Estonia as head of a Russian parliamentary delegation.

The monument, known as the Bronze Soldier, was removed from its location in central Tallinn early Friday morning after protests that left one dead and dozens injured. It is to be moved to a military cemetery.

Russia would insist that the monument be replaced in its original location, Kovalyov said.

In reaction, a spokesman for the Foreign Committee of the Estonian parliament called Kovalyov’s statement “propaganda.”

The statue, which stands vigil over the bodies of 12 Red Army soldiers, has coloured Moscow-Tallinn relations for months. Many Estonian politicians say it symbolizes the Soviet occupation of their country, while Moscow argues its removal dishonours those who fought against fascism.

“What is currently happening in Estonia can be understood only as a provocation against Russia,” news agency Interfax quoted Kovalyov as saying.

The Russian delegation is expected to meet in Estonia with lawmakers, government members and representatives of the Interior and Defence Ministries to discuss the fate of those detained during the unrest.

“Preliminary talks suggest we will be able to get most of those detained freed,” Kovalyov said according to Interfax.

Meanwhile, the Estonian Foreign Ministry on Monday delivered an official protest against the blockade of the country’s embassy in Moscow by youth groups supporting the Kremlin.

The Baltic news agency BNS quoted the Estonian protest note as saying Russia had to fulfil its obligations and guarantee the safety and freedom of movement of the Estonian diplomats.

Around 350 young people on Monday continued to block the entrance into the embassy, and one case denied entry to a reporter from the Kremlin-critical television broadcaster Ren-TV who had gone to apply for a visa to cover the row in Estonia.