RIGA – With the economy on everyone’s mind, a regional newspaper Ventas Balss decided to gather a group of experts to chat about future economic prospects of this country of ours.
On October 2, the newspaper published selected excerpts from the discussion with prominent leaders in the community including Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs and a lecturer at the Ventspils University Dmitrijs Smirnovs (the link in Latvian).
In the context of the economic development and worries about the future of the middle class, who borrowed and now are unable to pay back their loans, Smirnovs said, “The only thing that I can recommend is: first of all, do not save money in banks; second of all, do not save money in lats because right now it is very dangerous.”
Yesterday, it was reported that the state police arrested “a journalist” for the attempt to destabilize the financial situation in Latvia. The journalist turned out to be none other than Mr. Smirnovs, according to the Russian-language newspaper Telegraf (the link is in Russian).
Rumors about devaluation have exposed the distrust of the jittery public to government officials – from the Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis to the head of the Latvian central bank Ilmars Rimsevics. In 2007, rumors also persisted. Someone sent out SMS messages warning of possible devaluation, causing public officials to calm down the public. In the weekend before the Independence Day, the government decided to nationalize the largest locally owned bank in the Baltics, and some had said the four-day holiday weekend serves as a perfect opportunity to change an economic or fiscal policy. During the holiday weekend, old people queued up at local currency exchange bureaus to change their lats to euros, depleting the currency reserves in some exchange offices.
The nervous public is feeling edgy and willing to listen to any information from anyone else other than the government. It feels as if we’re returning to the turbulent 1990s with weak financial system, blind faith in rumors over official information. This is why it would be prudent for the authorities to explain to the public their plan of action when it comes to economy in a clear and coherent fashion, so that people like my grandmother – who is clueless about the world economic crisis – would understand and stop worrying. Instead, the government chooses to send people to jail for questioning the stability of the currency or the financial system of this country. They are willing to curb freedom of speech and freedom of expression in order to keep the lid on the rumor mill. Instead of reassuring the public, the government adds more fuel to the fire of suspicion and distrust. Tell us how you plan to save the economy, how you plan to restore jobs, and rebuild confidence of the people, then, perhaps, people would not be in rush to say good bye to their hard-earned lats and exchange them for euros.
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