About 1,000 Estonians Protest Against Reception of Refugees

A rally against the intention of the Estonian authorities to accept refugees from Africa and the Middle East took place in Tallinn on Wednesday near the parliament building.

TALLINN (Sputnik) — According to police estimates, about 1,000 people participated in the rally in the European Union member state.

The protest was organized by right-wing forces, including the European National Front, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia and the Party of People's Unity.

The protesters gathered near the German embassy with slogans in German appealing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, shouting "You won’t handle it, woman," and "It's not your land, woman!"

The protesters demanded a national referendum on admitting refugees and the full reinstatement of controls along the entire state border.

In September, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed the distribution of some 160,000 refugees among EU member states under a compulsory acceptance quota system amid an enormous flow of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

Under the proposal, Estonia must accept 373 refugees.