Jbanc@Jbanc.org
Date: Sun, 13 May 2007
H.Res. 397 was introduced on Thursday, May 10 and already has 19 co-sponsors. A Senate resolution with the same language expressing solidarity with Estonia passed on May 4.
More info on House co-sponsors below, along with the text of the House resolution. We’d like to get this passed asap, hopefully this week. There are no VA or MD co-sponsors as of yet.
Please contact your representative to help get this passed, to support Estonia, and condemn Russia’s actions. Congressional contact info at congress.org
Karl Altau
JBANC
jbanc@jbanc.org
***
House resolution introduced on May 10 in support of Estonia by Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL), co-chairman of the House Baltic Caucus. The text of the resolution mirrors the Senate resolution passed on May 4.
Status as of May 10.
H.RES.397 Title: Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia’s embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia. Sponsor: Rep Shimkus, John [IL-19] (introduced 5/10/2007) Cosponsors (19) Latest Major Action: 5/10/2007 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
COSPONSORS(19), ALPHABETICAL:
Rep Bono, Mary [CA-45] – 5/10/2007
Rep Camp, Dave [MI-4] – 5/10/2007
Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] – 5/10/2007
Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] – 5/10/2007
Rep Feeney, Tom [FL-24] – 5/10/2007
Rep Gallegly, Elton [CA-24] – 5/10/2007
Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] – 5/10/2007
Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5] – 5/10/2007
Rep King, Steve [IA-5] – 5/10/2007
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] – 5/10/2007
Rep Miller, Candice S. [MI-10] – 5/10/2007
Rep Neal, Richard E. [MA-2] – 5/10/2007
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] – 5/10/2007
Rep Pitts, Joseph R. [PA-16] – 5/10/2007
Rep Rogers, Mike J. [MI-8] – 5/10/2007
Rep Shuster, Bill [PA-9] – 5/10/2007
Rep Smith, Christopher H. [NJ-4] – 5/10/2007
Rep Stupak, Bart [MI-1] – 5/10/2007
Rep Upton, Fred [MI-6] – 5/10/2007
Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia’s embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia. (Introduced in House)
HRES 397 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 397
Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia’s embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 10, 2007
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself, Mrs. BONO, Mr. CAMP of Michigan, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. PITTS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. UPTON, Mr. SHUSTER, and Mr. COSTELLO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia’s embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia.
Whereas, on April 27, 2007, the Bronze Soldier Soviet monument in central Tallinn was moved to a prominent location in the Garrison Military Cemetery as a result of a decision by the Government of Estonia;
Whereas the Government of Estonia communicated its reasons for this decision to the Government of the Russian Federation and offered to work with Russian officials during the process, which the Russian officials declined to do;
Whereas, on April 27, 2007, a crowd of more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered at the site of the memorial and riots broke out across Tallinn;
Whereas more than 153 people were injured as a result of the riots, and one died as a result of stabbing by another rioter;
Whereas several stores in Tallinn and surrounding villages were looted as a result of the riots, and a statue of an Estonian general was set on fire;
Whereas, since April 27, 2007, the Government of Estonia has reported several cyber-attacks on its official lines of communication, including those of the Office of the President;
Whereas, on April 28, 2007, and in days following, the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow was surrounded by angry protesters who demanded the resignation of the Government of Estonia, tore down the flag of Estonia from the Embassy building, and subjected Embassy officials inside the building to violence and vandalism;
Whereas, on April 30, 2007, a delegation of the State Duma of the Russian Federation visited Estonia and issued an official statement at the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Estonia that `the government of Estonia must step down’;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the Ambassador of Estonia to the Russian Federation was physically attacked by protesters and members of youth groups during an official press conference;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the Swedish Ambassador to the Russian Federation was attacked as he left the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow, and his car was damaged by a crowd, resulting in a formal protest to the Russian Federation by the Swedish Foreign Ministry;
Whereas the Government of Estonia has reported other coordinated attacks against Estonian embassies in Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga, Prague, Kiev, and Minsk, and the Estonian Consulate in St. Petersburg;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, Prime Minister of Estonia Andrus Ansip stated that a `sovereign state is under a heavy attack’ and that the events constitute `a well-coordinated and flagrant intervention with the internal affairs of Estonia’;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the public prosecutor’s office of Estonia initiated an investigation into the cyber-attacks against Internet servers in Estonia and requested cooperation from the Russian Federation to identify the source of the attacks;
Whereas, on May 2, 2007, the European Commission expressed its solidarity with Estonia and urged Russia to respect its obligations to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 1961, and end the blockade of the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow; and
Whereas the Embassy of Estonia in Russia has been closed since April 27, 2007, and Estonia has suspended consular services to Moscow because conditions remain unsafe for Embassy officials: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That–
(1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Soviet Union’s brutal, decades-long occupation of Estonia was illegal, illegitimate, and a patent violation of Estonia’s sovereignty and right to self-determination; and
(2) the House of Representatives–
(A) expresses its strong support for Estonia as a sovereign state and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as it deals with matters internal to its country;
(B) condemns recent acts of violence, vandalism, and looting that have taken place in Estonia;
(C) condemns the attacks and threats against Estonia’s embassies and officials in Russia and other countries;
(D) urges all activists involved to express their views peacefully and reject violence;
(E) honors the sacrifice of all those, including soldiers of the Red Army, that gave their lives in the fight to defeat Nazism;
(F) condemns any and all efforts to callously exploit the memory of the victims of the Second World War for political gain;
(G) supports the efforts of the Government of Estonia to initiate a dialogue with appropriate levels of the Government of the Russian Federation to resolve the crisis peacefully and to sustain
cooperation between their two sovereign, independent states; and
(H) urges the governments of all countries–
(i) to condemn the violence that has occurred in Estonia, Moscow, and elsewhere in 2007 and to urge all parties to express their views peacefully;
(ii) to assist the Government of Estonia in its investigation into the source of cyber-attacks; and
(iii) to fulfill their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 1961.
