STOCKHOLM (EE) - After Estonia was illegally yet without much international response annexed into the Soviet Union all foreign diplomats who were accredited in Estonia left the country, this after they had witnessed the methods used for taking over actual power.

During those fateful days of June 1940, a young student from the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, was also in Tallinn. Kennedy spoke afterwards that he was a witness to the events that took place in Estonia.

On July 23, 1940 the ambassadors of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in London and Berlin voiced protest against the illegal activities of the Soviet Union in the Baltic States.

Similar protests were also placed by the representatives of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the Government of the United States of America.

The US government immediately announced their denouncement of the actions of the Soviet Union with regard to the Baltic republics.

The acting Foreign Secretary, Sumner Welles, announced that the US would not recognize under any circumstances the occupation of the Baltic states and their illegal incorporation into the Soviet Union.

The Estonian ambassador to Sweden at the time, Heinrich Laretei, formally entered a note requesting the nonrecognition of the occupation of the Republic of Estonia by the Soviet Union to the Swedish government. The “two-faced” Swedish government (who dealt with both the German and Soviet governments) recognized the occupation and annexation of the Baltic States de facto in August 1940 and de jure on May 30, 1941.

Sweden has not removed this disgraceful stain from her record to this day.

During the first days of the Soviet Union's occupation of the Republic of Estonia, noted here as June 17, 1940, approximately 200 to 300 people were arrested every month in Estonia. There were many more who just simply disappeared.

During the winter of 1940-41 the chief of the NKVD (the predecessor of the KGB) in Estonia, Boris Kumm, received an instruction from General Serov of the NKVD in Moscow, which was adopted under decree no. 001223, on October 1939,which contained the following:

"Re: Arresting and deporting the anti-Soviet element from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for three reasons:

1. To eliminate all individuals who show up at least some patriotic activity:

2. To inhibit the possible rebellions of the less active part of the society through use of fright:

3. To depopulate these nations physically.

When this decree was adopted, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were still independent and sovereign countries. This example illustrates very well the approach of the leaders of the Soviet Union.

The first deportation operation began on June 14, 1941. The numbers are staggering and have been documented. They add up to a total of 59,962 people, of which 6,420 were women. That total was 5% percent of the entire population of Estonia.

There are no limitations of time on war crimes, such as the ones which were committed by Soviet authorities against Estonia and her people during the first occupation year and also during the second occupation period, which lasted for almost half a century, including the second deportation operation of March, 1949. The human losses are irrecoverable.

Due to the activities of the misanthropic regime of the Soviet Union, Estonia lost approximately one quarter of her population during the occupation.

In addition to that Estonia suffered economic losses due to Soviet occupation, compensation for which now should be recovered from Russia, as the recognized legal successor of the Soviet Union.

Time to consider the possibility of having the International Court in The Hague resolve this contentious issue.

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