15 August

Today Prime Minister Andrus Ansip took part in an event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the restoration of independence, where he thanked the Swedish nation for supporting Estonia during the restoration of independence.

At the site of the so-called Monday meetings on Norrmalmstorg, Ansip delivered a speech in Swedish emphasising the historical ties between Estonia and Sweden. “During the Soviet occupation era, Sweden was the principal destination for our fellow citizens who fled the regime – starting in 1944, Sweden became home to thousands of Estonian families,” he said. The prime minister also noted that the Estonian government in exile – the embodiment of the continuity of Estonian statehood – found refuge in Sweden as well. “I thank the Swedish people for offering a good home to my fellow countrymen, and for supporting Estonian freedom.”

From March 1990 to September 1991, Norrmalmstorg and central squares in dozens of other Swedish cities hosted 79 Monday meetings in which Swedes expressed support for the Baltic states on their road to complete liberation from the Soviet occupation.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also invited the prime ministers of Latvia and Lithuania and active members of society from all three Baltic countries to the 80th such gathering.

Today’s Monday meeting marks the official beginning of the commemoration of Baltic Year 2011 in Sweden, where the events that led to Baltic re-independence 20 years ago will be remembered all through late summer and autumn.