S. Tambur, Estonian Public Broadcasting, May 28, 2015

Kristiina Ojuland, a former Foreign Minister of Estonia and former member of the European Parliament, voiced her disapproval of the European Commission’s migrant quota plan on her official Facebook page, by calling for a pan-European campaign against admitting any refugees in the EU.

In a post that was more reminiscent of a far-right extremist, than a former Vice President of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ALDE), Ojuland said that the “white race is threatened” by dark-skinned immigrants (Ojuland actually used an Estonian word “neeger” which is not officially considered offensive in Estonia, but nevertheless becoming socially unacceptable).

“Today yet again I see a fully able young Negro begging for money in Italy, from people who have worked hard to earn a lunch. I think that we should start a pan-European campaign to collect signatures to ensure that not a single so-called refugee gets across the Mediterranean. Enough of this nonsense!” Ojuland, the former high-ranking politician who for years campaigned Estonia to join the EU, wrote.

Her posting has so far gathered over 2,000 “likes”, 500 shares and 300 comments. While many people pointed out her offensive remarks and some called her racist, one would have thought that the former foreign minister would back down, but it didn’t turn out to be so. Instead, Ojuland chose to rigorously defend her statement and even went offensive against the moderate commentators who asked for common sense.

“Stop using a word ‘racist’! As a white person, I feel that the white race is threatened today! Are Estonians also so brain-washed now that they start talking some kind of politically correct bullshit?” Ojuland said.

Another reasonable commentator was told by former liberal MEP that by being a member of the European Union does not mean “accepting people who would squeeze Estonia’s social system”. “Estonia needs to say clear no to Mediterranean migrants!” exclaimed Ojuland.

Ojuland was the Foreign Minister of Estonia from 2002-2005. In June 2004 she ran for the post of secretary-general of the Council of Europe, but was defeated. She was a member of the Estonian Reform Party from 1995-2013 and from 2009-2014 served as 1 of the 6 Estonian MEPs in the European Parliament. Ojuland was expelled from the Reform Party in June 2013 over alleged vote rigging in the party board elections and subsequently founded Party of People’s Unity, which failed to gain enough votes to enter the Parliament, effectively ending Ojuland’s major political career in Estonia.