A spokesman for the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Estonia said the supporters were on hand to show support for Ukraine and called for a peaceful settlement to the political crisis in that country. Other groups taking part in the rally included the Ukrainian Congress and the Ukrainian Compatriots Association.
The Estonian Union of National Minorities, which brings together organizations of 24 national minorities, supported the pro-Yuschenko rally, as did the Tallinn club of Juventus, which is the youth group of the Res Publica party. Of some interest is that a posting on Baltic Blog noted that Ukrainian citizens living in Estonia overwhelmingly voted for Victor Yanukovich. In the runoff round of the presidential poll, the Ukrainian prime minister was supported by 802 voters, or 77.56 percent of the Ukrainians voting in Estonia, against 219 voters (21.17 percent) who voted for Yuschenko. In the first round Yanukovich got 73.15 percent of the Ukrainian vote.
(EL, ref. BB)