Ratas opened the centenary week of the Republic of Estonia

Stenbock House, 19 February 2018 – Today, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas opened the centenary week of the Republic of Estonia, calling on all Estonians to work toward common goals, to think more about their fellow citizens, solidarity, empathy, as well as what can be done to make tomorrow brighter and fairer for everyone.

Ratas said at the opening ceremony of the centenary week that exactly 100 years ago, the founding of the Estonian Salvation Committee launched a chain of events that resulted in the proclamation of Estonia’s sovereignty. “For people back then, it might have been difficult to navigate in the series of events that took place at the time. Today, too, it is hard to attach greater importance to one event instead of the others. After all, the story of our independence is multifaceted and the result of many bold, but right decisions,” he said.

According to Ratas, in celebrating 24 February, the founding of the Provisional Government is emphasised first. “However, if we consider the public declaration of national independence as important as the establishment of the state, we could celebrate 21 February, when the text of the Independence Manifesto was approved, or 23 February, when it was first read to the public. All these steps, as well as the mutual understanding, determination, and cooperation between the parties, were inevitably needed for founding the Republic of Estonia,” he said.

In addition to historical events, the prime minister also called on people to celebrate the recent achievements of Estonia during the centenary week: the independence of our country is better protected than ever before and Estonia recently finished its first and very successful Presidency of the Council of the European Union. “Strengthening our reputation and role in the international community is a collective achievement of us all. Due to their remarkable achievements, our artists, schoolchildren, and scientists have also made an international impact. It shows clearly that strong primary education and continued recognition by the society will help in attaining the best results in science, culture, and sports,” said Ratas, according to whom intellectual wealth is one of the most important indicators of the viability of people and must be constantly taken care of.

According to Ratas, we should look into the future and consider improvements so that life in Estonia would flourish also in the next century. One of the issues he mentioned was the alienation of people from politics and the state. “We are not numerous enough to afford the indifference of even a single person towards the well-being of our country. And we do not want to be a nation whose government tolerates negligence for even one person’s livelihood. We must want and we need to be able to interact with and relate to each other, to create a real and strong connection with every person in Estonia. Only together and by caring for each other can we be successful, strong, and united,” he said.

According to the prime minister, the people of Estonia are spiritually very similar to each other, even though their worldviews and life experiences differ. “Hence, it is highly unfair to split the society, still differentiate between “us” and “them”, and treat “them” as foreigners instead of compatriots. Instead of our area and population, deep respect for the life of our own nation and others is what makes us great,” he said.

According to Ratas, our future will be our own doing, and herein lie the immeasurable possibilities of the attained freedom. “So let us work today more than ever before toward common goals and not against each other. Let us think more about our fellow citizens, solidarity, and empathy. Instead of focusing on what we cannot do, let us think about what we can do in the name of a brighter, fairer tomorrow,” said the prime minister during the opening of the EV100 centenary week.

Photos of the opening ceremony of the centenary week (photos by Aron Urb/EV100): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g55wozdlbu1555g/AABNRoImwapdUMfbktWnOnyua?dl=0