Monday, September 30, 2024

"Estonia" is always relevant like Titanic

I and others whose relatives perished in the cold sea on that dark autumn night are satisfied that Estonia, in cooperation with Sweden and Finland, opened a new investigation into the causes of the disaster. With today's tools, it is easier to investigate the reasons behind the tragedy. Private initiatives to organize new investigations must also be praised, as this was expected and hoped for. However, I want to warn those who think that these new investigations will satisfy all the claims of the families of the dead. Many people seem to have forgotten that because of structural errors that caused the sinking of the ship, those who lost a loved one in the "Estonia" disaster and sued the classifier of the ship, the French company Bureau Veritas and the company that built the ship, Meyer Werft, demanding more than 40 million euros in compensation. On July 19, 2019, the Court of First Instance of Nanterre, France, made a decision dismissing the family's appeal. It is unequivocally clear that the compensation that most of the people who lost loved ones on board Estonia received was embarrassingly symbolic. Already at that time, the payouts to the families should have reached at least over 100,000 euros. Instead, the relatives of those killed on the ship received ten times less than, for example, in a similar plane or other disaster in the world. With the money paid, it was not possible to raise small children who lost their mother. This was the fault of the rulers of that time and also of later governments, because they did not fight enough for people's compensations. The states of Estonia, Sweden and Finland must pay fair sums to the relatives of the victims. In my estimation, a fair amount in total would be approximately 90 million euros. This would not be beyond the power of Estonia, Sweden and Finland.
The drowning of 852 people must not remain forever shrouded in mystery in today's society. Three decades is a long enough time to bring the truth about what happened to the public. The leaders and officials of the time, who probably have more and more precise information about what happened, should start speaking publicly first. Is it not a coincidence that the KGB agent from 1978 Herman Simm was roaming around the Estonian shipwreck ? The same Herman Simm acted as police prefect in Harju County during the days of the Estonia ferry disaster. After all, Simm was also the head of the Estonian police from December 1994. This was an important part, because there was a strange activity in the takeover of the military base in Paldiski, Harju county. It is well known that when "Estonia" went on a trip on 28.09.1994, military exercises took place in the Baltic Sea. In this case, misguided or non-misleading shots at Estonia cannot be ruled out. It is incomprehensible why the ships, which were currently conducting exercises, did not conduct a rescue operation to save civilians. Now it is known which country blocked the calls from Estonia. And why were Estonian leaders silent about all this? It is clear that today, more than ever, we need an investigation to find out the causes of the sinking of the Estonia ferry and the related circumstances. Estonia as a country could act as a real example, showing that the priority for our country is the citizens and the safety of its people. I am also directly involved in the matter, as I lost three close people in the accident - my grandmother was among the passengers, my sister and girlfriend were among the ship's crew.

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