Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia's embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 397) condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia's embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the only Member in the history of Congress who survived the Holocaust and was liberated by the Russian Army. I was therefore opposed to the decision and continue to remain opposed to the decision by the government of Estonia to move a memorial honoring Russian soldiers for their historic sacrifice during World War II in liberating Estonia and many other parts of Europe from Hitler's domination. What came afterward, however, is an entirely different issue.

On April 27, over 1,000 pro-Russian demonstrators gathered in Tallinn, the beautiful small capital of Estonia. That group soon got out of control. Riots broke out across the city. Finally, over 150 people were injured. One person died.

The next day, the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow was surrounded by angry, pro-Russian demonstrators who demanded the resignation of the government of Estonia. The Estonian ambassador was physically attacked by demonstrators during an official press conference. Even the Swedish ambassador to Russia was assaulted when he left the Estonian Embassy in Moscow.

Since the initial riots in Tallinn, the Estonian government has reported other coordinated attacks against its Embassies in Helsinki, Finland; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Riga; Prague and Kiev.

The Estonian government, with the assistance of NATO, has also been investigating cyber attacks against the government's Web site, as well as against the computer systems of political parties, banks, and media organizations in Estonia. Cyber attacks in this day and age, Mr. Speaker, can be devastating. The Estonian government estimates that these attacks cost the targets tens of millions of Euros, a significant sum for a small country like Estonia.

These incidents of violence have been condemned by a host of European institutions. The European Commission has expressed its solidarity with Estonia and urged Russia to respect its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. NATO has issued a similar statement condemning the violence.

So, today, we in Congress join our friends in Europe in expressing our strong disapproval of the unjustified and unacceptable Russian attacks against Estonia, and we express our strong solidarity with the people and government of the great democratic nation of Estonia.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this all-important measure.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Before yielding back our time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of all of my colleagues to an upcoming open joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma on June 21. This will be the first time in history that the Foreign Affairs Committees of these two parliaments will have met in joint session.

I very much hope, and I know my distinguished ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, joins me in hoping, that we will have a meaningful and helpful dialogue with our Russian colleagues so that the current state of tension between Russia and the United States could somehow be diminished.

We had high hopes when the Soviet Union collapsed over 15 years ago, but many recent statements by Mr. Putin and many actions by Russia, including the action that we have just heard described against the free and democratic Republic of Estonia, fill us with a great deal of concern and anxiety.

I urge all of my colleagues to attend this joint session of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee in a few weeks in our hope that before the President and Mr. Putin meet in Kennebunkport we might have a legislative opportunity of exploring candidly all of the issues that, at the moment, seem to divide us.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I also rise in strong support of this resolution authored by our good friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), which condemns the violence within Estonia, condemns the attacks on Estonia's Embassy in Russia that have taken place recently, and which expresses our solidarity with the government and the people of Estonia in the face of such violence and intimidation.

As the chairman has pointed out, the April 27 relocation by the Estonian government of a Soviet-era statue and memorial, located in the capital, led some ethnic Russians within Estonia and some Russians in Russia itself to undertake violent demonstrations and threatening intimidation. These events presented the rest of the world with the worrisome prospect that Estonia and other countries once held captive by the former Soviet regime would continue to be subjected to organized, threatening behavior by their neighbor, Russia.

Additionally troublesome is the possibility that such behavior might be supported by officials at high levels within the Russian government.

It is the view of the most impartial observers that in the days that followed the memorial's relocation, the Russian government quite obviously failed to adequately protect the Estonian Embassy in Moscow, which was threatened for some time by a mob.

In Estonia itself, government, commercial and media Web sites observed a series of suspicious and devastating cyber attacks, reportedly originating from within Russia in what appeared to be a very organized manner.

All of that followed very violent demonstrations mounted by some ethnic Russians within Estonia, demonstrations that required significant engagement by the police to halt.

Mr. Speaker, since regaining their independence with the fall of the Soviet regime, Estonia, as well as the other Baltic States, have worked hard to overcome the serious impact of that decades-long occupation, a period in which the native population in Estonia came close to becoming a minority, a minority in their own land, due to the actions of the Soviet government.

Many Baltic citizens were deemed to be threats to that occupation and they were shipped off to Siberia, some never to be seen again, while ethnic Russians were assigned by the regime to settle in the Baltic States.

But with renewed independence, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have had the opportunity to again take control of their future.

To their credit, they have worked with the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union to find ways to address the presence of those who had been settled on their territories during the Soviet era, finding procedures to grant proper citizenship that, while tough in some cases, nevertheless provided a means for the large ethnic Russian minorities to participate in the civic life of those states whose independence was no longer questioned.

The European Union and the NATO alliance recognized the efforts by these Baltic States to constructively address the challenges and to implement general democratic and free market reforms.

That is why Estonia and other Baltic States are today members of both the European Union and NATO, and why those organizations have stood by Estonia in the face of the disproportionate reaction to the recent relocation of the memorial, that reaction appearing to have had its roots in Moscow.

Mr. Speaker, the Baltic States have more than earned their independence through decades of repression and suffering under a Communist regime.

It is important that through the adoption of this resolution before us today, authored by Mr. Shimkus of Illinois, we make it clear that we stand in support of Estonia and its independence in the face of threats and intimidation.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join us in support of Mr. Shimkus' resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), the author of the resolution.

(Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for your time and the speedy movement of this resolution, and it's timely with the President's trip to Europe.

A few things of note. I continue to follow, as the chairman knows, the occurrences in the former captive nations, the European Union countries, and mostly the Baltic countries, and it seems like we can never get to forgiveness. It seems like countries always go back to another point in time to address their grievances.

I've been on the floor numerous times to talk about Molotov- Ribbentrop, and we've debated that and we've voted on that resolution. We forget about Roosevelt's land lease deal that was very helpful to the Soviet Union at that time, and as the chairman's correct, we also forget about the sacrifices made by the Soviet Union in winning World War II, especially on the Eastern

front. So his concerns are well-founded and very much appreciated by this Member.

There was great hope after the fall of the Wall, as I served on the German border during the Cold War era, that this would bring a new time for Europe, a time of prosperity and peace, the rule of law, democratic institutions. And that's why we continue to be frustrated by the current involvement, because when there is peace and stability and the rule of law, the people prosper, people on both sides of the boundary lines. In this case the Estonians and across the border, the Russians, they would both benefit from peaceful relations and coexistence.

But we just can't get there yet, and so that's why I'm very appreciative of bringing this resolution because the decision by the Estonian government to move the memorial, as the chairman said, probably not proper in his estimation, I know that it can be said that it was done with dignity, with consultation and moved to a place in a military cemetery and given all the respects offered.

But having said that, what a free and independent country, a decision it can make, doesn't justify the result. Again, that's why going back to the comments of, can't we just forgive and can't we just move forward, the great nations do not have to bully small neighbors. Great nations can stand side by side with their smaller allies and their neighbors to help them develop and grow.

And what we see from the Russian Federation is just the opposite. We see them continually harass and bully their neighbors. Their neighbors have made choices that we expect free and democratic countries to be able to make, and just because the Russian Federation are unhappy with that it does not give them the right to bypass the rule of international law.

So this issue, as has been discussed earlier, the result of the movement of the statue led to riots within Estonia by ethnic Russians and also problems in the capital of Moscow, and as Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said, any impartial observer would say that there was a move by the government to specifically not stop them, and there is great evidence that they helped encourage this ability to be thugs and bullies to ambassadors and government representatives of free and democratic countries.

That's why I'm very thankful that the committee seemed right to bring this resolution speedily to the floor. As cochair of the House Baltic Caucus, I've been heavily involved for 10 years with NATO expansion, the EU expansion and the energy disputes.

Estonia is one of our closest allies and friends in Europe. They have been an integral part in our war on terror in having troops in Afghanistan.

That is why House Resolution 397 is so important. The U.S. House of Representatives must stand with our Estonian friends and refuse to let them be bullied by the Russian government. The intimidation that President Putin is using against our allies in Eastern Europe is simply unacceptable.

Again, I'd like to thank the chairman for bringing this to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 397, which condemns violence in Estonia and attacks on that country's embassies in 2007. It also expresses solidarity with the government and the people of Estonia.

This past April 27, a crowd of more than 1,000 pro-Russian demonstrators gathered in Tallin, the capital city of Estonia. The gathering became unruly and riots broke out across the city. In the end, over 150 people were injured and one person died from stab wounds.

On May 2, the Estonian Ambassador was physically attacked by protesters during an official press conference. That same day, the Swedish Ambassador to Russia was assaulted when he left the Estonian Embassy in Moscow.

Since the initial riots in Tallin, this wave of violence continued, and the Estonian Government has reported other coordinated attacks against its embassies in Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga, Prague, and Kiev, among other cities. The Estonian Government, with the assistance of NATO, has been investigating cyber attacks against the government's website, as well as against the computer systems of political parties, banks, and media organizations. The Estonian Government estimates that these attacks have cost the targets tens of millions of euros.

Estonia is a well respected member of NATO and the European Union. These incidents of violence have been condemned by a host of European institutions. The European Commission and NATO have expressed their solidarity with Estonia and urged Russia to respect its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that this House also express its disapproval of the unjustified attacks against Estonia. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution, which denounces violence in Estonia and attacks against its embassies, while also expressing solidarity with the government and people of the great nation of Estonia.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows:

June 5, 2007:

Rollcall vote 426, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution H. Res. 397--Condemning violence in Estonia and attacks on Estonia's embassies in 2007, and expressing solidarity with the Government and the people of Estonia, I would have voted ``aye.''

Rollcall vote 427, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution H. Res. 422--Calling on the Government of the People's Republic of China to use its unique influence and economic leverage to stop genocide and violence in Darfur, Sudan, I would have voted ``aye.''

Rollcall vote 428, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution H. Res. 430--Calling on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately release Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, I would have voted ``aye.''

Rollcall vote 429, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution H. Res. 451--Directing the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to respond to the indictment of, or the filing of charges of criminal conduct in a court of the United States or any State against, any Member of the House of Representatives by empaneling an investigative subcommittee to review the allegations, I would have voted ``aye.''

Rollcall vote 430, on motion to suspend the rules and agree to the Resolution H. Res. 452--Raising a Question of the Privileges of the House, I would have voted ``aye.''