ASHAMED? In an effort to salvage his party's image, Rebane, who is accused of bribery, revoked his membership in Res Publica.
TALLINN - As soon as the president openly lambasted the Tallinn City Council for corrupt politics, highlighting recent incidents of bribery and political bargaining, councillors jumped to clean up their image. On April 3, the board of Res Publica's Tallinn chapter voted to expel City Council member Oleg Rebane - despite the fact that he had already stepped down on March 29 - due to allegations that he had bribed Centrist deputy Tonis Bittman to defect to the opposition.
As a sign of how high feelings ran, the board proposed ousting Rebane before hearing what law enforcement officials had to say.
"We find that, by going along with Bittman's provocation, Rebane caused significant damage to Res Publica's reputation," said party press secretary Rauno Veri.
According to the Center Party, Rebane offered Bittman a million kroons (64,000 euros) to help bring down Centrist Mayor Juri Ratas in a vote of no confidence. Bittman secretly taped the conversation.
The incident drew sharp remarks from President Arnold Ruutel, who accused the City Council of engaging in "a very dangerous practice 's using methods absolutely unacceptable in a democratic society."
On March 29, Rebane left both the party and the City Council in an attempt to save Res Publica from slander. He also appealed to the State Prosecutor's office to begin criminal proceedings over Bittman.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Tallinn Council, Center Party member Toomas Vitsut, asked police to investigate the alleged bribery. But after listening carefully to the recording, Security Police found no evidence of vote-buying.
In response to Rebane's appeal, the Prosecutor's Office ruled that Bittman's tape recordings could not be defined as unlawful surveillance.
Meanwhile, opposition parties on the council signed a joint declaration condemning the Center Party for allegedly staging the bribery incident and tape-recording colleagues during a meeting. For many the incident harked back to the mid-'90s when Center Party leader Edgar Savisaar, who was then Interior Minister, was caught making secret tape recordings of opposing politicians.
During his public address on March 31, Ruutel emphasized the seriousness of the situation. The spread of such dishonesty was leading Estonian democracy into a serious crisis, he said, endangering the nation's statehood and destroying the people's trust.
"As a citizen of Estonia and president of the republic, I am deeply concerned about this," Ruutel said. "Attempts to bribe politicians with the aim of making them change sides do not adhere to the rules of fair and acceptable politics."
The current situation in Tallinn, he specified, shows that not all politicians respect the public interest, nor are they ready to engage in democratic elections. Instead, these individuals are working to restore unethical methods.
"If people can mention a 'price' for several politicians, and in earlier cases a 'purchase,' then such cases are no longer just regrettable exceptions," the president said. "This refers to a very dangerous practice 's the use of methods absolutely unacceptable in a democratic society. All Estonian parties and electors, as well as relevant agencies, must demonstrate concern over this."
The president reminded that two elections are scheduled for Estonia this year and that it was in the interest of all people and parties to conduct fair and lawful elections.
"Those politicians who receive a mandate must execute their power fairly and transparently," Ruutel added. "Secret deals and ballot-buying have no place among methods of ethical politics."
The president appealed to everyone to do their best to protect democracy. The people's sense of justice and safekeeping, he said, were too valuable to go undefended.
