Ansip dogged by communist past

  • 2007-10-31
  • By Joel Alas
TALLINN - Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip has again been confronted with allegations from his time as an official of the Communist Party.
Ansip, now the chairman of the conservative Reform Party, was an organizer of the Tartu branch of the Communist Party on Feb. 2, 1988, when security forces were sent to control demonstrating students.
He has repeatedly denied having any role in suppressing the demonstrations. On Oct. 25 fresh allegations against him were aired by Robert Narska, who was then the deputy mayor of Tartu.
"Ansip is lying," Narska told the Eesti Paevaleht newspaper. He said he met with Ansip on the day of the demonstrations.

The protests proceeded without violence between authorities and students, though many demonstrators reported being intimidated by the militia and their dogs.
"Ansip said he was upset with the ineffective job done by the security forces that day because they should have used their dogs more actively to frighten the students. Ansip said that anyone bitten by a dog was less likely to return to the streets," Narska said.
Ansip again rejected the allegations, and said Narska was lying.
"The local communists in Tartu had nothing to do with what happened in Tartu that day," Ansip told local media. "These things were organized from somewhere else and from higher up."

He said he would not take legal action against Narska to clear his name as it would not resolve anything.
"In a way, it's even useful for this issue to emerge because now it's possible to speak clearly and publicly about which role one or another person played at that time. So thanks a lot, Robert Narska."
Ansip has been dogged by his communist past ever since he began his political career as mayor of Tartu.
Allegations against him have failed to dent his popularity, however. In March this year Ansip was returned to office in a landslide victory, and he continues to enjoy high poll ratings.
According to one researcher, almost a quarter of Estonia's current serving politicians were active members of the Communist Party. Juri Ruus, a senior researcher at the Tallinn University Institute of International and Social Studies, said it was "quite normal" for aspiring politicians to be involved in party activities during the 1980s.

He said voters seemed to be quite forgiving of "reformed" communists. Other former party officials include Siim Kallas, a former prime minister and current European Commissioner, and Edgar Savisaar, a former government minister and the current mayor of Tallinn.
"It's a pattern that is typical for all Eastern Europe. Many reformed communists switched to other fields, such as business. According to my study, they continued pretty successfully," Ruus told The Baltic Times.
"This accusation against Ansip isn't a serious attack. It's just a media bluff. The election is over, but the political war goes on."