Ilves to decide Bronze Soldier's fate

  • 2007-02-15
  • By TBT staff
The fate of the Bronze Soldier monument now rests with President Toomas Hendrik Ilves after the Estonian Parliament passed a resolution to remove the controversial statue.
Ilves must now decide whether to promulgate the law or return it to parliament for amendment.
On Feb. 13, Ilves indicated he was unhappy with the bill in its current form, as it appeared to contradict fundamental national laws.

"I cannot dictate to the parliament their possible decision in the final vote, but I hope that few days of parliament will not be darkened by legal flop," he said at the time.
In Parliament, 46 representatives from Reform and the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica voted in favor of the bill, which obliges the government to remove the statue from its current location in Tonismagi, central Tallinn. Parliamentarians from the Center Party, the People's Union and the Social Democrats voted against it.

Ilves, a former leader of the Social Democrats, has fourteen days to decide whether to promulgate the bill.
It will be his first major decision as president, and one that will likely cause serious repercussions no matter what the outcome.