What is most remarkable has been their ability to maintain their culture and national integrity against all odds. The latest occupation. however. has produced a cultural attack of outrageous proportions. In the first year of Soviet occupation it is estimated that almost 60.000 Estonians were deported. Since then the Soviet Union has followed a systematic plan of terror and deporting aimed at destroying Estonian national identity and diffusing its people throughout the U.S.S.R. In 1939 88.2 percent of the population was Estonian. compared to only 68.2 percent in 1970. Today I want to take this opportunity to salute the Estonian people in their determination to fight for human rights and their national identity.
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deported deporting