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EESTI ELU reedel, 20. detsembril 2019 — Friday, December 20, 2019
Nr. 51/52
Toronto Estonian Kindergarten Christmas
English-language supplement to the Estonian weekly “EESTI ELU” Tartu College Publications Founding Chairman: Elmar Tampõld Editor: Laas Leivat 3 Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 2S2 T: 416-733-4550 • F: 416-733-0944 • E-mail: editor@eestielu.ca Digital: www.eestielu.ca
Useful idiots the Canadian way Is someone who produces an on-line bulletin of the Marx ist-Leninist Party of Canada and who was the party’s can didate in the last federal elec tions a useful and/or willing idiot for Moscow? He amassed a total of 77 votes from people who definitely fit the description of useful idiot. But one might ask, why a Western communist in today’s world, when the Cold War is supposedly over and commu nism as such has ostensibly been abandoned by the current Russian regime, still be pushing Soviet propaganda? Because Western communists still perceive the Kremlin today as espousing the same totali tarian line, as the continuation of repressive policies of the old Central Committee. In fact they probably celebrate the steady growth of admiration for Stalin in Russia. That’s why they, without apology, stick to abject lies and fabrications. One Dougal MacDonald, a seasonal lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, recently posted on his personal Facebook a rejec tion of the Ukrainian famine calling it a concoction of the Nazis. MacDonald’s timing was well-planned. November is the month when Ukrainians com memorate the memory of the victims of the famine. It has now been irrefutably estab lished, through documents pre viously sealed and not acces sible that the Holodomor of 1932-1933, that killed millions of Ukrainians, was a deliberate, targeted Soviet policy. A Soviet era directive of 1932, shows that Communist officials ordered regions be placed on a “black list”, to en dure the “immediate cessation of delivery of goods” and the “complete suspension of co operative and state trade”, in cluding “farm trade”. The crops that Ukraine had produced were requisitioned or left to rot. Soldiers were ordered to ran sack villages for their edible goods before blockading their residents and denying them the right to buy food. After decades of denial, dis missal and falsification through Soviet propaganda, it was solidly established that the Kremlin was intent on eliminating the
defiance of Ukrainians to the ruthless forced collectivization of agriculture – the elimination of family farms. It was also a disabling strike against any visions of increased autonomy for Ukraine that might eventually lead to independence. One might note that the right to independence was guaranteed in the Soviet constitution. But how many of the articles in this constitution were conveniently violated, such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly etc., etc? The same could apply to the modern Russian Federation constitution. MacDonald carries the lega cy of the of the first famine denier – Stalin – and his offi cials that helped perpetrate the deliberate genocide against the Ukrainian nation. His legacy includes prominent figures such as George Bernard Shaw, H.G Wells, Sir John Maynard, French Prime Minister Edourad Herrit – who was quoted in 1933 in Pravda that he “cate gorically contradicted the lies of the bourgeoisie press in connec tion with a famine in the USSR” – the apparent words of a useful idiot par excellence. Perhaps the most notorious willing idiot was New York Times reporter Walter Duranty, winner of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize in journalism. He wrote at the time that “there is no actual starvation or deaths from star vation, but there is widespread mortality from diseases due to malnutrition”. He was fully cognizant of the famine and had reported to the British Embassy that the population of Ukraine and Lower Volga had reduced by six to seven million. His newspaper articles said other wise. British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge commented that “there was something vigorous, vivacious, preposterous, about his unscrupulousness which made his persistent lying some how absorbing”, calling Duranty “the greatest liar of any journal ist I have ever met in 50 years of journalism”. In 1986, after public cam paigns for the withdrawal of the Pulitzer Prize given to the New York Times, the paper refused to relinquish it. In spite of the fact that the Times in 1990 conceded that Duranty’s articles “were some of the worse re
The abundant activity involving the youngsters at the annual Christmas celebration of the Toronto Estonian Kindergarten this year replaced the usual performances of the children for parents and grandparents. Not only were the tots able to talk longer with Santa but they also enjoyed embellishing ginger bread cookies, making Christmas tree decorations, listening to Christmas stories and getting vigorous exercise in a bouncing castle. The successful event was organized by: Tiiu Bradley, Tarmo Lõbu, Heili and Mikk Toome, Riina Knowles, Tiiu and Tarmo Remmel, Andres and Silvi Kolga, Mailiis Qaqish, Eerik Randsalu, Katrin Sõmermaa, Ingrid Laar. Photo: Väino Treksler
porting in this newspaper”, the Pulitzer Board of Columbia University in 2003, after an in dependent review of Duranty’s intentional support of Stalin’s propaganda, ruled against the revocation of the award to Duranty. Is this a form of will ing idiocy, willing to protect a willing useful idiot? The Russian government still denies that the Ukrainian famine constitutes a “genocide”. The Russian Foreign Ministry in 2017 stated that the Ukrainian government’s use of the phrase “the genocide of Ukrainians is “politically charged” and “con tradicts historical facts”. However, serious scholar ship, with thorough investiga tion led the government of Canada to recognize the Holo do mor as a deliberate act of genocide. The supreme irony of Holo domor deniers is the fact that useful idiots, willing or unwit ting live in a democratic society like Canada, where they have the freedom to express views offensive to the government but propagated by those regimes that would repress and perse cute any citizen for the same type of behaviour, that which bucks the official line. LAAS LEIVAT
Kersti Kaljulaid named 2019 Friend of the Press for defending free speech ERR, December 2019 The Estonian Association of Media Enterprises selected President Kersti Kaljulaid as the winner of the annual Friend of the Press title on Tuesday, but no Enemy of the Press title was issued this year. The union said the president has vigorously spoken out in defense of free speech and de fended the freedom of the press. The press friend was selected by the editors-in-chief of the Estonian Association of Media Enterprises from a list of can didates submitted by their edi torial offices. Founded in 1994, the pur pose of choosing a press friend is to bring the public’s attention to how public figures interact with the press and, through it, with the public, in a more entertaining way. Friends of the Press: 1994 Mart Laar, 1995 Siim Kallas, 1996 Tunne Kelam, 1997 Paul Varul, 1998 Lennart Meri, 1999 Jüri
Mõis, 2000 Ivar Tallo, 2001 Ingrid Rüütel, 2002 Allar Jõks, 2003 Mati Alaver, 2004 Marko Pomerants, 2005 Tõnis Lepp, 2006 Aadu Luukas (posthu mous), 2007 Juhan Kivirähk, 2008 Ivari Padar, 2009 Andres Arrak, 2010 Allar Jõks, 2011 Helve Särgava, 2012 Heili Sepp, 2013 Kristi Liiva, 2014 Andrus Ossip, 2015 Elmar Vaher, 2016 Karmen Turk, 2017 Tarmo Soomere, 2018 State Audit Office. Enemies of the Press: 1994 Lennart Meri, 1995 Edgar Savisaar, 1996 Tiit Made, 1997 Robert Lepikson, 1998 Olari Taal, 1999 Lennart Meri, 2000 Toivo Jürgenson, 2001 Mart Laar, 2002 Heiki Kranich, 2003 Peeter Tali, 2004 Rein Lang, 2005 Andres Lipstok, 2006 Enn Pant, 2007 Andrus Ansip, 2008 Urmas Kukk, 2009 Rein Lang, 2010 Toomas Hendrik Ilves, 2011 Eesti Suusaliit, 2012 Kristen Michal, 2013 Rein Lang, 2014 Neinar Seli, 2015 Rein Kilk, 2016 Toomas Hend rik Ilves, 2017 Mihhail Korb, 2018 Aivar Rehe.
