Remarks by Riivo Sinijärv at the Memorial Service Honouring the Memory of Robert Conway Frasure

Riivo Sinijärv, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia
22 August 1995, Holy Spirit Church, Tallinn


Dear friends and colleagues,

It is always difficult during times of tragedy to explain for ourselves the loss, to come to terms with the fact that a good friend is no longer among us. We in Estonia have seen a great deal of tragedy over the years. We have lost loved ones to deportations and to terror and to the sea. But the heart does not harden, and each successive loss is just as painful as previous ones.

As President Meri said earlier, the loss of Bob Frasure is painful for many reasons. But a tragedy in the line of duty is somehow of different proportions, because the loss is not just of an individual, but of a national nature. It is said that diplomacy is the first line of defence a state has, and where diplomacy ends, war begins. It is sadly ironic that Bob Frasure, who was key to American efforts to advance the peace process in Bosnia, died in the hostile mountains surrounding Sarajevo.

Sorrow for a man who did so much good for Estonia, as Bob Frasure did, becomes a national sorrow for us, too. An old Estonian saying goes like this: Jagatud rõõm on kahekordne rõõm, jagatud mure on pool muret, which in translation means that shared joy is twice the joy, shared sorrow is half the sorrow. I sincerely hope that our sorrow, that of Americans and Estonians together for Bob Frasure, will halve the mourning and bring us even closer together.

The first book of Timothy, chapter six, verse twelve, reads as follows: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." Bob Frasure fought the good fight, and professed a good profession. We mourn along with Bob Frasure's loved ones and friends and colleagues, and along with the American people. We mourn the loss of this great friend of Estonia.