Eesti in brief - 2004-04-15

Last week the government approved paying 1.million euros to farmers in compensation for crop failures and specified the scheme for getting compensation for the past year.

Producers who suffered damage from natural disasters that affected the cultivation of cereals, legumes, oil cultures, potatoes, flax, raspberries and strawberries - and who appropriately notified the authorities by November 2003 - have the right to receive compensation. The government said that taking into account the actual prices of the lost crops it will pay about 50 percent less than the farmers had asked for in the 50applications filed thus far.

The damage caused by fire in the main building of the Estonian public television channel ETV was estimated at about 287,000 euros. Insurance will cover most of the damage, but purchase of some of the new equipment will require public tenders. On the night of April 7 the technical equipment center of the ETV building in central Tallinn caught fire. A fire inspection carried out in December 2003 revealed a number of fire safety flaws in the ETV building.

A taxi driver working on his second 24-hour shift in a row hit four parked cars on April 12, the daily Eesti Paevaleht reported. The driver, Alexander, 49, said he often worked long hours because otherwise it was impossible to earn back the money invested in the car and other equipment a taxi driver needs. There are about 1,700 taxi cars and nearly 2,200 taxi drivers in Tallinn. The high number of taxis in the capital city makes for tough competition, as drivers' income has not changed in recent years, according to the Labor Market Board.

The regional committees of the Center Party this week rejected MPs Liina Tonisson (photo) and Robert Lepikson, two from the seven party members who had sent a letter to party Chairman Edgar Savisaar accusing him of authoritarian rule inside the party. The regional committees accused Tonisson and Lepikson of disgracing the party's image and violating its founding articles. The party board must approve the decision.

Estonian police brought against charges six individuals, five of whom are state officials, on accusations of smuggling luxury cars stolen in Spain, Germany and Switzerland into Estonia. A worker of the Car Registration Center and an unemployed member of the group faced charges of multiple bribery, smuggling and forgery. The four workers of the Tax and Customs Board face charges of neglect of official duty. All the suspects are under a restraining order that prohibits them from leaving their town of residence.

Estonia appears unlikely to participate in a peacekeeping mission to Sudan should the EU send soldiers there. Madis Mikko, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said Estonia would probably not send peacekeepers to Sudan in the near future.