President Karis: Self-limitation has no place in defending the future of the free world
There is no room for frightened self-limitation when defending the future of the free world because ideas that may seem impossible today become normal over time, President Alar Karis said in his speech on the 33rd anniversary of the restoration of Estonia's independence.
Thirty-three years ago, a dream became reality as Estonia regained its independence. Our own state. On this anniversary of liberation, I wish to call on every compatriot to appreciate that as a nation of only one million, we have managed to accomplish great things – in science, culture, athletics, the economy – and to restore our statehood. We have remained unwavering and steadfast despite every possible concern, be it in regard to security, economics, tax increases, or other challenges.
In the autumn of 1991, we looked back into the distant past, towards the earlier Republic of Estonia, but we also peered into the future to ask what part of our heritage was worth reviving and maintaining as a lasting value. What was to be the nature of the Estonian state that we restored? The past, present, and future interwove in that question of all questions.
When the Estonian state was born, its founders expressed an unshakable will to create a country grounded in justice, law, and freedom. After many long years of occupation, we placed freedom first above everything else because we had come to understand something crucial: in a state without freedoms, justice becomes a hollow word and laws merely a means of control.
The Republic of Estonia's restoration was simultaneously a strengthening and a development of that state – so said our new Constitution. We also face that task today: to strengthen and develop a state founded on liberty, justice, and the rule of law. Those words define Estonia's character and essence. We must consider the degree of attention that those three fundamental values demand of us now.
