OTTAWA - The Estonian Central Council in Canada, EKN, held a press conference May 5th on Parliament Hill to advise Canadian Parliamentarians and the public of the real meaning of VE-Day to those of us that trace their heritage to European countries that were occupied by the Soviet Union.
Russia, succesor to what was aptly termed the “evil empire”, has simply refused to admit that its collaboration with Nazi Germany was one of the root causes of the Second World War and that the former Soviet Union’s brutal occupation of half of Europe was not a “liberation” for those unfortunate countries falling under the Soviet yoke.
Russia remains steadfast in its refusal admit its past. The May 9 celebrations in Moscow have to be seen as a farce since they really commemorated the beginning of an even more terrible new war, this time called the “Cold War” which lasted for almost a half century.
I attended the EKN conference with Tõnu Naelapea, the editor of this paper. Dr. Ülle Baum represented the Ottawa area Estonian society. Martin Sausins, president of the Latvian and Baltic Federations of Canada, and Ruta Klicius of the Ottawa Lithuanian Canadian Community also addressed the press conference.
Attendance was somewhat sparse as beyond invited press, EKN members and guests only three members of Parliament — Ontario MPs Sarmite Bulte, Gary Goodyear and Peter Van Loan — and one senator — Hon. Raynell Andreychuk showed up. This was perhaps understandable given the current political situation on the Hill.
All four Canadian politicians spoke in support of the Baltic community, underlining the need to have the message of the EKN resolution heard by a wider audience. Peter Van Loan also gave a Member’s Statement later in the House of Commons on the topic.
Was the press conference a success? Too early to tell. We are a small community, and our united voice sometimes has not been heard in the past.
The Estonian Central Council in Canada (EKN) should be commended for its efforts reminding Canadians of the tragic recent past suffered by the Baltic States. Let us hope that the message was heard and understood by our elected representatives.
