Soldiers' remains finally laid to rest

TALLINN - Eight coffins containing the remains of Soviet soldiers exhumed at Tonismagi have been reburied in the Estonian capital.

Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo, Population Minister Urve Palo and chairman of the National Defense Committee Mati Raidma all took part in the ceremony.

The diplomatic corps, various defense attaches, representatives of veterans' organizations, the war graves maintenance association, the War Graves Committee and the Estonian Red Cross were also among onlookers.

The memorial service was conducted by the same clergy who conducted an ecumenical service before the exhumation at Tonismagi.

Both the remains and the coffins are marked with identification codes that are linked with archived DNA profiles of the remains. The codes are marked on stainless steel identification tokens used in theEstonian defense forces.

A temporary memorial plaque with the names of the eight soldiers whose relatives have not yet been traced was installed at the graveside.

The plaque is inscribed in the Cyrillic alphabet with the names of the deceased. The exact location of each grave is indicated on a map. The remains of twelve people, including those of a woman, were found in the excavations, and some have already been returned to relatives.