A newspaper published by the Centrist Party in Estonia is being accused of inciting antisemitism, according to a March 2, 2005 article in the Russian-language Estonian newspaper Molodyozh Estonii. The February 9 article in the Kesknadal newspaper was written by a former soldier in the Estonian SS legion, which fought against the Soviet Red Army on the side of the Nazis during World War II. The author protested a decision by the Luhula city council to tear down a monument to the Estonian SS legion, arguing that the legion defended Estonia against “an anti-Christian coalition.” He characterized the swastika not as a symbol of hate, but simply an ancient religious symbol.

He tried to back up this argument by employing the terminology of the Nazis on the Eastern Front: “Sullying antique religious symbols through Jewish-Bolshevik calumny and lies is a clear sign of ignorance.”

Estonian Jewish leaders were quick to condemn the article. The chief rabbi of Estonia, Shmuel Kot, told Molodyozh Estonii that: “I think that for all normal people of the 21st Century, no matter what country they live in, the swastika is associated, first and foremost, with Nazi ideology. Nobody thinks about the fact that it was once a religious symbol within Hinduism… It’s strange that one must come across such articles not in some kind of marginal leaflet, but in a newspaper that considers itself a serious publication.”

Two members of parliament from the Centrist Party told Molodyozh Estonii that they too disagree with the publication of the article, which seems to violate anti-incitement laws.

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