Global Voices » Estonia

Macedonia: Blogging in Estonian about Skopje Marathon/Half-Marathon

Filip Stojanovski — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:35:30 +0000

Sandra Jürs blogged in Estonian about her participation in the Skopje Marathon/Half-Marathon [mk, en] on May 6, 2012.

Estonia: Places to Eat Out in Tallinn

Veronica Khokhlova — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:08:41 +0000

Nami-Nami recommends places to eat out in Tallinn in Spring 2012.

Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?

Danielle Martineau — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:09:08 +0000

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise.]

As of the end of the month of February 2012, the mobilization efforts of Internet users against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [en] were still going strong. In fact, they may have begun to bear fruit.

By including infringements against the author's rights in its scope, this international treaty, which addresses intellectual property rights, also affects Internet content.

The ratification debates which were placed on the European Parliament's agenda on February 29, were put on hold in expectation of the opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The issue of the treaty's conformity with European Community law was brought before the court on 22 February by the European Commission.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo by Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Taurillon, the “magazine of young Europeans -France” describes “Europe's about-face on ACTA“:

Si l’avis est négatif, l’ACTA n’a plus aucune chance en Europe. Mais en cas d’avis positif, le recours à la CJUE représente le double avantage de redonner au traité une certaine crédibilité, et de repousser son adoption à une époque suffisamment lointaine pour que la polémique se soit tassée et que l’opinion publique regarde ailleurs.

If the opinion is negative, ACTA no longer stands a chance in Europe. However, if there is a positive opinion, appealing to the ECJ would mean a double advantage by giving the treaty a certain credibility, and also pushing back implementation to a time that is far enough away when public debate has settled down and the public's attention is focused elsewhere.

Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson for la Quadrature du Net urges on the European deputies:

Les eurodéputés doivent résister à la stratégie de la Commission européenne, qui cherche à gagner du temps et à transformer le débat en une simple discussion juridique, et pour cela continuer à travailler au rejet d’ACTA. ACTA vise à imposer une tendance pour une politique globale du droit d’auteur qui est toxique pour l’Internet libre et pour les libertés. Le Parlement européen est le dernier rempart : il doit agir et adopter une position claire et forte, faute de quoi il laissera le champ libre à la Commission pour imposer une répression inacceptable.

The Eurodeputies must resist the European Commission's strategy of attempting to gain time and turning the debate into a simple legal discussion, thereby continuing to work towards ACTA's rejection. ACTA aims to impose a tendency for a global policy of author's rights that is toxic for the free Internet and for freedom. The European Parliament is the last line of defense: it must act and adopt a firm and clear position, otherwise it will leave the field wide open for the commission to impose an unacceptable repression.

For trucbuntu, there is no question of remaining passive while waiting for the Court to adjudicate:

Les citoyens de toute l’Europe peuvent contacter leurs représentants dans les commissions Commerce International (INTA) et Industrie (ITRE), qui se réunissent cette semaine pour discuter d’ACTA, et leur demander de continuer à travailler au sein de leur commission pour le rejet d’ACTA.

Citizens of all of Europe were able to contact their representatives in the International Trade (INTA) and Industry (ITRE) Committees, who met on February 29 to discuss ACTA. Many citizens requested their representatives to reject the proposal.

The website of the European Parliament explains the procedure and the issues of the treaty [en] that are under scrutiny, and has published ‘What you should know about ACTA‘ [en], a page of questions and answers. The ACTA workshop of the European Parliament has been the object of a storify [en] made by the Parliamentary services (link via Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras [en]).

The organization AVAAZ submitted a petition to the European Parliament on 29 February with 2.4 million signatures against ACTA. The petition is still open:

Nous sommes vraiment proches de la victoire — notre pétition forte de 2,4 millions de signatures a ébranlé les responsables politiques partout en Europe et stoppé les censeurs. La Commission européenne est à présent en position de faiblesse et espère que la Cour de justice donnera son feu vert au traité ACTA en lui soumettant une question juridique très limitée qui recevra certainement une réponse positive.Mais si nous faisons résonner nos voix aujourd'hui, nous pouvons faire en sorte que la Cour examine tous les impacts légaux du traité ACTA et publie un avis qui fera toute la lumière sur cette attaque contre nos droits qu'est ACTA.

We are really close to victory — our petition, with 2.4 million signatures has shaken up those politicians in charge throughout Europe and stopped their censors. The European Commission is currently in a position of weakness and is hoping the Court of justice will green light the ACTA treaty by bringing before the court a very limited legal question, that will without doubt receive a positive response. But if we make our voices heard today, we will be able to get the court to examine all the legal implications of ACTA and publish an opinion that will bring to light the real attack against our rights that is ACTA.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Anti-ACTA parties continue to strengthen their resources. New protests were set for 10 March, and torrentnews gives a list, with this appeal:

La liste n’est pas exhaustive, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour la compléter ;)

si certains se sentent l’âme d’un reporter- photographe en herbe, nous recherchons également des personnes pour faire un petit article photo du déroulement de la manif, rien de bien compliqué, comme fait ici pour Nice, Marseille,Bordeaux et Strasbourg.

The list is not exhaustive, do not hesitate to contact us to complete it ;)

If any individuals see themselves as budding photojournalists we are also looking for people to do a small photo story on how the protest unfolds, nothing too complicated, as it happens in Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg.

For details on the elements of the debate, see also these linked articles from the Tribune on February 29, and Myeurop, on March 3. On Global Voices, see the laws SOPA/PIPA that set a precedent in the USA, here [en] and here [en]. Since the beginning of the protests, ACTA seems to have lost a lot of political momentum.

The title of this post is inspired by the end of the article “La liberté sur Internet : le filtrage de la discorde” which was published by the Institute of Research and Legal and Information studies and Communication (I.R.E.D.I.C.). It puts into perspective Internet blocking and debates the adoption of ACTA.

The original article in French was published on March 4. For background on the ACTA proposal, more articles can be found here [en].

Estonia: The SS-Trap Revisited

Vilhelm Konnander — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:26:24 +0000

Kloty of Gedanken über Estland portrays [ger] Estonia's ambivalence over its historic past, as rumours and denials recur that the government wants to declare Estonians who fought in German uniform during the Second World War freedom fighters.

CEE: “Spotted by Locals”

Veronica Khokhlova — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 01:08:32 +0000

Spotted by Locals: Experience cities like a local features a few dozen locations, including CEE cities of Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Krakow, Ljubljana, Prague, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zagreb. A random sample post from Zagreb, Croatia: Hrelić Flea Market – The Aleph of Zagreb; from Bucharest, Romania: The Haunted House – Armenian Neighbourhood; from Sofia, Bulgaria: Nissim – A True Old-School Bookstore.

Estonia: Language and History

Vilhelm Konnander — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:04:20 +0000

Giustino of Ithing for Eestimaa discusses Estonians' obsession with language - and especially their own as opposed to Russian - against the backdrop of a recent interview with the country's president Toomas Ilves.

Baltics-Sweden: Twenty Years of Independence

Vilhelm Konnander — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:13:11 +0000

Albatros of Litauen blog reports about [ger] Swedish celebrations of 20 years of independence for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and how Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, apologised to his Baltic colleagues for recognizing soviet annexation during World War II.

Estonia: A Breivik of Tallinn?

Vilhelm Konnander — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:42:52 +0000

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa draws parallels between the confused motives of Oslo killer Anders Breivik and Karen Drambjan and his failed attempt at attacking the Estonian Ministry of Defence in Tallinn on 11 August.

Estonia: Defence Ministry Finances War Veterans?

Vilhelm Konnander — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:53:36 +0000

Kloty of Gedanken über Estland draws attention to [ger] information in Estonian media that the country's Defence Ministry is allegedly financing the controversial Waffen-SS war veterans' organizations.

Estonia: Tower of Babel

Vilhelm Konnander — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:14:26 +0000

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa discusses how Estonia - contrary to preconceptions - is very much of a multilingual country, not least because of tourism but also in daily practicalities.

Estonia: Party Merger in Peril

Vilhelm Konnander — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:15:20 +0000

Axel Reetz of Estland blog discusses [GER] the consequences of the 2006 merger of Estonia's conservative parties, Pro Patria and Respublica, and how this union is now increasingly questioned, but also sees that unity within other parties in the country is dwindling.

Estonia: Agonizing Over History

Vilhelm Konnander — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:03:03 +0000

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa reflects upon historical memory and guilt against the background of Estonian town Viljandi celebrating the 70th anniversary of Nazi occupation.

Russia: Anti-Cop Blogger Is Granted Political Asylum in Estonia

Alexey Sidorenko — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:03:49 +0000

Savva Terentyev, blogger from Syktyvkar who was accused of inciting hatred towards policemen in 2008, was granted a political asylum in Estonia, BBC's Russian Service reports [ru]. Terentyev decided to emigrate because he couldn't find job in Syktyvkar after the trial. “All the doors were shut for me due to my bad reputation,” Terentyev said explaining his motives, adding that he's not willing to return back to Russia.

Estonia: Celebration of Nazi occupation

Vilhelm Konnander — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:03:36 +0000

Kloty of Gedanken über Estland draws attention to [GER] a celebration of the 70th anniversary of Nazi occupation of Estonian town of Viljandi, and discusses how locals considered it preferrable to Soviet occupation, turning a blind eye to atrocities committed against the town's Jewish population during World War II.

Central and Eastern Europe: Economies more exposed than expected

Vilhelm Konnander — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:47:23 +0000

Edward Hugh of Baltic Economy Watch argues that Central and East European economies are more exposed to risk in case of a Eurozone crisis than what financial ratings say.