Estonian National Day

That this House notes that 24 February is the Estonian National Day, marking 104 years since the signing of the Estonian declaration of independence in 1918, and the foundation of the Republic of Estonia; further notes that the Estonian people had been subjects variously of Swedish, Russian and German Empires and that in 1917 after years of brutal conflict in Europe, Estonians formed a Provisional National Council, the Maapäev, to reform and modernise institutions and governance that had previously been the preserve of the Russian Imperial elite; notes that as the Bolshevik government sought to overturn these steps towards self-determination and the German army threatened to invade, the Maapäev held elections at the start of February 1918 which underlined its legitimacy before the declaration of independence on 24 February; and further notes that following this demonstration of Estonian self-determination it was required to bravely fight both German and Soviet forces until the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty in February 1920; and recalls the words in the preamble to the Estonian Declaration of Independence on 24 February, which state that never in the course of centuries have the Estonian people lost their ardent desire for independence and that from generation to generation Estonians have kept alive the secret hope that in spite of enslavement and oppression by other nations the time will come in Estonia when it is said that all splinters, at both ends, will burst forth into flames and when Kalev will come home to bring his children happiness.