Estonia celebrates in style

PARNU -- An estimated 10,000 people, including many who had travelled specially from other parts of Estonia, gathered in Parnu on Feb 23 to watch a military parade celebrating the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Estonia.

No offenses were recorded that could be linked to the parade, Kaja Kukk, superintendent with the West Prefecture of the police, told BNS.

With Parnu's city center closed for traffic during the run-up to the parade and while the parade was going on, only one vehicle had to be removed for violation of parking restrictions.

"This shows that residents took the restrictions accompanying the parade with understanding," police spokesperson Kaja Kukk confirmed, adding that no arrests had been made in connection with the parade.

The parade, attended by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, started at noon with a presidential review of the armed forces. More than 1,000 armed forces personnel took part including detachments from army, navy and air force, making it the largest single show of force ever assembled by Estonia.

The infantry company of the Scouts Battalion took part in the parade on 13 PASI armored personnel carriers. Also on display was a six-strong battery of 155-mm howitzers of the Army's Artillery Group, a battery of 23-mm anti-aircraft guns of the Air Defense Division, a battery of 81-mm grenade launchers of the Kuperjanov Battalion and a battery of 120-mm grenade launchers of the Kaitseliit. The Viru Battalion sent an anti-tank company with two Mapats anti-tank systems and four Milan anti-tank systems.

Meanwhile naval vessels were moored in the harbour and helicopters and NATO jets performed a crowd-pleasing flyover despite high winds.

The parade will serve as a significant morale-booster in the wake of news that two senior army officers are set to quit their jobs. Col. Urmas Roosimagi, chief of the Estonian Army's training center at Tapa, and Maj. Jaak Mee, chief of the operations department at the Army Staff, have filed applications to quit, the daily Eesti Paevaleht reported on Feb 23.