Fwd: RFE/RL: Pro Patria Opposes Removing Estonian Language Requirement from Election Law

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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 09:06:09 +0300 (EEST)
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Subject: Fwd: RFE/RL: Pro Patria Opposes Removing Estonian Language Requirement from Election Law

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Petra Kovacs <[email protected]>

Fwd: RFE/RL: Pro Patria Opposes Removing Estonian Language
Requirement from Election Law


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 5, No. 197, Part II, 17 October 2001
PRO PATRIA OPPOSES REMOVING ESTONIAN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT FROM
ELECTION LAW. The chairman of the Pro Patria Union faction, Tiit
Sinissaar, asserted on 16 October that the amendments to the laws on
parliament and local elections proposed the previous day by Kadri
Jaatma of Pro Patria Union, Moderate Tonu Koiv, and Paul-Eerik Rummo
of the Reform Party should not be supported, ETA reported. The
amendments would abolish the requirement that candidates for these
offices know Estonian to the extent that they can understand the
contents of legal acts and other texts; make reports on the issues on
the agenda; and express their opinions, ask questions, and communicate
with voters. Jaatma said that the existing law does not prevent those
who do not speak Estonian to be elected to local councils. The main
purpose of the amendments appears to be an effort to help convince the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to end its
10-year mission to Estonia, as the language requirement was one of the
few things criticized in the last OSCE report on Estonia. SG

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