Russia’s Jewish Communities Federation: Setting up monuments to SS soldiers in Estonia is attempt to turn criminals and butchers into heroes of liberation war

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On July 31, 2006, Russia’s Jewish Communities Federation (RJCF) Public Relations Department Head Borukh Gorin commented on setting up a monument to SS soldiers in north-eastern Estonia, unveiled on July 29 in the city of Sinimae; a REGNUM correspondent was informed at RJCF press office.

“Setting up monuments to SS soldiers in Estonia is another attempt of local authorities to turn criminals and butchers into heroes of liberation war. Evidently justification and making heroes of Nazis is one of Estonian state policy’s directions. It causes perplexity and shock,” Mr. Gorin stated.

He stressed that such policy contributed to restoration of inhuman Nazi ideology; to all appearances such “heroes” were taken for a model by those, who discriminated Russian-speaking population in this EU country.

Mr. Gorin is sure, condemnation even of the possibility to set up such monuments is a natural reaction of normal person, like Belgian Ambassador to Estonia Pierre Dubuisson, who banned usage of state symbols of his country during the unveiling ceremony.

“Silence of the European community, which recently discussed necessity to ban even Nazi symbol – swastika — is not understandable in such situation. The Jewish Communities Federation expects qualified evaluation of the neo-Nazi action both from the direction of the European Union and the whole democratic world,” Borukh Gorin stated.