On the 16th anniversary of Estonia regaining its independence, president Toomas Hendrik Ilves is encouraging us all to be proud of our country. So for once I won't take any pot-shots at it. Here's what he said during an interview on Kuku radio this morning.“There have been precious few moments in Estonia's recent history in which the entire nation has held its breath, all eyes on one room in one building,” he said. “But on the 19th and 20th of August 1991 it did. The nation awaited news from Toompea. They awaited a decision.”
“And you were there,” he continued, addressing those who took the courageous step of declaring independence from the Soviet Union. “You were the decision-makers. The situation you found yourselves in was clearer than clear, but at the same time an enormous burden to shoulder. You had no margin for error, but neither did you have a choice. You could not let the nation down: they had been awaiting such a moment for 51 long years.”
“I thank you for the decision you made - just as the people of Estonia thank you, and just as our children and grandchildren will thank you. I wish everyone a happy Independence Day!”
2 comments:
I will take a potshot: It's not that good of a speech. It tries to be inspiring, but the whole "you didn't have a choice" part is bit of a downer.
That's kind of what I thought, and I wondered whether I should translate it in a way that put more of a positive spin on it in English. But that's what he said in Estonian... so I just left it. I think it was something he kind of came up with on the spot anyway; if that was his national address on Independence Day, it really does suck.
Post a Comment