- An Estonian town has unveiled a controversial monument
to honour those who fought with Nazi forces against the Soviet Union in
World War II.
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- The monument depicts an Estonian soldier in German military
uniform.
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- The local authorities in the western town of Lihula said
they wanted to honour those Estonians who had to choose between the two
sides.
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- But the Estonian Prime Minister, Juhan Parts, described
the monument as a provocation.
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- An investigation is underway into whether it could incite
political hostilities.
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- 'Less evil one'
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- About 2,000 people attended the unveiling ceremony on
Friday.
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- "This monument is for people who had to choose between
two evils, and they chose the less evil one," Tiit Madisson, the governor
of the Lihula parish, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
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- "They had already experience of the Soviet occupation,
and they didn't want it to come back," he added.
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- A plaque on the monument reads: "To Estonian men
who fought in 1940-1945 against Bolshevism and for the restoration of Estonian
independence."
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- Correspondents say no official protest had been received
from Russia, which was widely expected to condemn the monument.
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- © BBC MMIV http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3585272.stm
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