Peace march, a Trojan horse

An anti-NATO „Peace March“ will take place in Tallinn on the second weekend in September. The main organizer of this provoking type of endeavor is Allan Hantsom who has been found guilty of anti- Estonian activities with other organizers having been part of the notorious Night Watch group during the Bronze soldier events.

The propaganda channels Sputnik and Baltnews are the main agencies advertising the anti NATO activities procession in Tallinn’s old city area on 23. September. They promote, that peace loving individuals from Germany, Moldovia, Ireland and elsewhere support the undertaking. The March starts by the Scnelli pond, going on to Freedom Square and ending in front of Toompea castle.

The organizers of the 2016 Tallinn Peace March cited a similar event in Switzerland on that date and called on to support their comments at the Tallinn march as well. The Novorossiya support march in Zurich video clip, where the Tallinn march is indeed mentioned can be still found on YouTube. A video summary of the friendship action, where Novorossiya flags are flying is also on YouTube. The organizer of the Zurich Peace March is the Great Fatherland party, which has previously organized similar Novorossiya support marches.

Currently we do not know of any 2017-partner undertakings. The Moldova connection to the Peace march has become questionable. The March occurs on the day after the anniversary of the occupation of Tallinn as well as being timed to take place during the Russian large military exercise, Zapad 2017. The organizers also belong to the non-profit organization, Russian compatriots in Europe, who organized a demonstration in Poland on 2. September launched by Sergei Barashov from Ireland against the Tallinn removal of the Soviet Army monument. This is the Peace March connection to Ireland.

The 2016 Peace March in Tallinn received much media attention from the propaganda channel, Baltnews, where there were several stories about the March as well as interviews with participants of the march. The Estonian speaking publications were more reserved in their reporting mainly due to the scandalous nature of the organizers. In the last couple of years, the format of the Peace March in Europe has become a bit of a Trojan horse, in that the action is actually a vehicle to promote Russian support hidden in the guise of a peace march. For example, last year’s Peace March in Berlin called for the German government to change its policies towards Russian sanctions and call back the German soldiers from Poland and Ukraine. The frontman of the Peace March was the German left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht, who has previously come to our attention with her Russian supportive statements against Estonia.

The statements in the Tallinn Peace March could go down that same road bringing with it provocations as well as recent accusations of Russo phobia and Fascism. The previous Peace Marches formats have been organized to; for example, raise support for Ukraine, remembering the Paris terror attack victims and mass murder victims of Srebrenica as well as protest against the war in Iraq. The Tallinn Peace March in the year, they planned to protest the Iraqi War was cancelled due to fear of possible disruptions organized by the Narva Russian citizens union.

Peace Marchs in different formats with different causes have been happening for decades, but clearly one of the first ones was in 1962 when Satish Kumar walked with his compatriots from India, through the Soviet Union, France and England to the United States.

Photo: screen shot of the Zurich March video on YouTube.