RSSVVF Interview to Radio Free Europe
Jan 17
Interesting interview Latvia’s president Vaira Vike Freiberga gave to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty last October.
The Perfect Storm 2005
Jan 16
Originally posted on Jan. 10, 2005
Last night, Latvia suffered through a strong storm. Strong winds going up to 30 meters per second knocked down power lines, increased the water level in the Daugava river which flooded several of the streets. According to the reports, the wind is still strong. The storm knocked down trees, disrupted work of public transportation, left one third of the residents without electricity and knocked roofs off several buildings in Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja and other cities near the shoreline of the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea.
-No deaths have been reported.- LETA reports at least 10 people were hurt after the storm as they flooded the affected areas. One capital city radiostation reported people with videocameras, photocameras flooding the areas most affected by the storm. No one died from the storm itself because it, thankfully roamed across Latvia at night.
This storm may be the strongest one of the last 40 years. In 1969, the river water level rose 214 cm, a historical record.
Here is where we stand now: -40- 60 percent of the country’s population -in the affected areas- are left without electricity, the government is debating whether to declare a state of emergency. Evacuation started in several places in the capital city, according to Latvian news agency LETA. The water level was rising especially high in Bolderaja located on the left shore in the Daugavas’s mouth.
A listener of the Russian-language radio station Mix FM reported water covers most of the houses, leaving visible only the roof, in Dubulti, Jurmala.
According to the weather report, the conditions will remain the same but the wind strength is going to diminish tomorrow. The river Daugava is continuing to rise and so far it has risen 200 cm (about 6 feet 5 inches).
Latvia’s Prime Minister Aigas Kalvitis and his government declared the state of electricity crisis in the country.
The storm also affected Great Britain, Germany, Estonia. The Associated Press “reports”:http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Storms-kill-15-across-northern-Europe/2005/01/10/1105206000452.html?oneclick=true that 15 people were killed as the storms moved across the Northern Europe. In Parnu, it has been reported that a quarter of the city has been flooded.
The Cabinet of Ministers canceled classes in public schools
Bolderaja area is marked by a clumsily drawn circle Monday and Tuesday due to the storm.
The education minister also cancelled classes in trade schools and other education facilities, mostly due to the electricity crisis. Due to the flood, electricity in the northern area of Riga, Bolderaja, and the resort Vecaki was completely disconnected. And it looks like my alma mater suffered as well. LETA reports that windows in one of the Mezapark schools are now non-existant.
On the same meeting the cabinet declared a crisis of energy, LETA reported. According to the law, the crisis of energy may be issued if one third of population does not have eletricity. Note to the readers from the United States, it is very unusual to have breaks in the electricity system for Latvia.
Prime Minister Kalvitis called on the Defense Minister Einars Repse (remember him?) to call on the armed forces to assist residents, LETA reported.
UPDATE (2230 EET):
“Baltic Blog”:http://balticblog.blogspot.com/2005/01/citizen-journalists-step-into-estonian.html reports on the situation from the storm in Estonia. Much like in Estonia, the information about the storm in Latvia is scarce. Baltic Blog mentioned an Estonian radio station Rainbow Radio that recieved phone calls from listeners about the dmage from the storm. In Latvia, as far as it can be determined, only Mix FM serves the center of information where callers could report what they see. Latvijas Radio, the state-funded radiostation only provided hourly news bulletins (as of 1800 EET).
I called my family in Riga who had said they heard a lot of noise in the might but saw nothing on the television. “We’ll have to wait until Monday to watch the news,” one of my relatives told me.
Update (2300 EET): Viewlatvia.com has a “webcam”:http://www.viewlatvia.com/cam2.html on the Daugava river. Now of course, it is too dark to see anything.
According to LETA, strong winds caused damage to 70 percent of farms throughout the country.
No Rescue for Golden Sky
Jan 16
Uncategorized Comments Off
From The Associated Press:
RIGA, Latvia: A rescue operation to salvage a Cyprus-registered cargo ship that ran aground 800-900 meters (yards) off Latvia’s coast in the Baltic Sea will have to be postponed because of inclement weather, Latvian officials said Tuesday.
The Greek-owned ship, Golden Sky, was carrying 25,000 tons of mineral fertilizer when it ran aground during the night between Sunday and Monday off the coast of Ventspils, a port town, due to a big storm and gale force winds.
Latvian helicopters evacuated 16 crew members, though eight others stayed onboard to prevent the damage from worsening, the coast guard service said.
The service said the ship’s engine room incurred serious damage and the ship is leaking fuel. Two of the ship’s five compartments are filled with water.
Remembering the Tanks
Jan 16
This week commemorates the events in Lithuania and Latvia that marked the de-facto beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. The Soviet tanks’ shoot at the Lithuanian people in Vilnius and the TV tower. In Riga, a siege of the Interior Ministry took place. For this week back in ’91, the two Baltic States became the top news story for the world media at the time of the Gulf War in Iraq.
In Lithuania, the Soviet Army units captured television tower and surrounded parliament building. Some residents were killed. In Riga on the call of the Latvijas Tautas Fronte (Latvian People’s Front), people young and old, Russian and Latvian were building barricades to protect government builings against a potential repeat of the Vilnius events in Latvia’s capital. Everywhere people were gathering – by the Council of Ministers, television building in Zakusala, international communication centre on Perses street, on Brasa viaduct and Vecmilgravis brigde. It was a display of unique solidarity among the people. That was especially true for those gathered in Dome Square, where people gathered in a festive mood.
Developments in Latvia that year are now called the “singing revolutionâ€, because it started with manifestation on Mežparks stage before Tautas Fronte congress. Later people expressed their solidarity in singing.
There are signs of that time in Riga: a barricade fragment by the Saeima building, Barricade museum in the Old Town on Kramu iela and memorial sign at Bastejkalns in rememberance of five of our own that were killed in January 20, 1991 among them also cameraman Andris Slapins. Every year in January in remembrance of barricades in Dome Square people are making fire.
Peteris remembers it also.
Dancing Weirdness on the Streets of Riga
Jan 16
Uncategorized Comments Off
Will she reach the fame of NYC’s Naked Cowboy?
Looming Constitutional Crisis?
Jan 16
Uncategorized Comments Off
This article was originally published on May 23, 2005. It was updated on Jan. 16, 2007.
After 10 years of hard work, the border agreement between Russia and Latvia is facing yet another challenge. This time, from the Latvian Constitution itself. Or, rather from the people.
In 2005, the work on the agreement to finalize the eastern border of the European Union was headed to a fiasco on one hand, or the constitutional crisis on the other.
Satversme, the Constitution of Latvia, recognizes the 1920 borders of the country, which includes the 1,909 sq. km. piece of land that was seceded to Russian Soviet Republic in 1944. The territory represents 3 percent of the whole Latvian territory and 12 percent from the territory of Latgale, the eastern part of Latvia.
Article 3 of the Satversme states as follows (with my emphasis):
The territory of the State of Latvia, within the borders established by international agreements, consists of Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme and Zemgale.
The article of this 1922 Constitution refers to the 1920 Peace Treaty signed by Latvia and Soviet Russia. The Constitution provides a way to change its vital passages by means other than a simple two-thirds of the MPs voting in favor. Article 77 states:
If the Saeima (Parliament) has amended the first, second, third, fourth, sixth or seventy-seventh Article of the Constitution, such amendments, in order to come into force as law, shall be submitted to a national referendum.
But it’s not a simple referendum. Article 79:
An amendment to the Constitution submitted for national referendum shall be deemed adopted if at least half of the electorate has voted in favour. A draft law, decision regarding membership of Latvia in the European Union or substantial changes in the terms regarding such membership submitted for national referendum shall be deemed adopted if the number of voters is at least half of the number of electors as participated in the previous Saeima election and if the majority has voted in favour of the draft law, membership of Latvia in the European Union or substantial changes in the terms regarding such membership.
According to this article, at least 50 percent of electorate must approve the amendments regardless of the turnout at the referendum. According to the Central Election Commission at the time of the last municipal elections, the total number of registered voters was 1,418,445. It means that an amendment to the Constitution must receive at least 709,223 votes.
The Parliament wisely added the text regarding Latvia’s entry to the European Union anticipating the lack of votes to approve the accension. The MPs were right. Although more than 70 percent of the eligible voters turned out for the 2003 EU referendum, the EU did not receive the needed number of votes according to the original formula.
In a 2005 interview on Latvijas Radio, Latvia’s President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said that constitutional troubles could be taken care of after the signing of the border agreement.
The daily Diena offered two possibilities at that time:
Option One: Latvia doesn’t change its position and remains faithful to the unilateral declaration de facto claiming the now-Russian piece of land. Russia is unlikely to agree to such an agreement as it sees it as a territorial claim by Latvia (which it, in fact, is). However, signing of the declaration and the border agreement in that respect would not adjust Latvia’s borders and thus would not be in violation of the Constitution.
Option Two: Latvia holds the referendum. The Saeima is likely to lower the needed number of votes for that specific purpose. Sadly, our politicians are keen on changing the rules of the game as they see fit.
Storm Causes Damage
Jan 16
Uncategorized Comments Off
Strong winds hit the Baltic coast causing more than $2.4 million in damage to the state property, leaving thousands of people without electricity. Rescuers evacuated 39 people in the Riga vicinity because of the rising water in the Daugava river. No one died. The winds were paticularly strong in Western Latvia.
The weather was reminiscent of strong windstorm two years ago.
Pictures after the jump.
All photos © Leta
Dakar 2007: Janis Vinters
Jan 16
Uncategorized Comments Off
Motorcycle USA writes:
The fourth stage inside of Mauritania’s boundaries was won by a relative unknown. Janis Vinters put his KTM 660 at the top of today’s leaderboard and scored the first special test victory for his country of Latvia by covering the 494 km of terrain 7’31 ahead of Gauloises KTM’s Cyril Despres. Vinters finished as far down as 161st on Stage 2, but today was his third time visiting the top-10. It is, however, the first time he’s landed inside that marker for the overall standings. Now in eighth, Vinters will have the honor of leaving first tomorrow morning for a loop course that begins and ends in Nema.
Photo from Janis Vinters Web site.
A Quick Note from Riga
Jan 06
Uncategorized Comments Off
Due to global warming or some other unusual activity, we arrived in the Riga airport in unseasonably warm weather and the traditional gloom and precipitation of January. It’s global warming, they say. I don’t know if they’re right, but it is the fact that the weather in Latvia was no different than the weather in Chicago at our departure.
Days have been filled with completing the arrangements for Tuesday’s funeral. Things here don’t work as quick as they do in the States. More on that when I get back statewise next week.
Otherwise, I’d like to congratulate Andrios Piebalgs, an EU Energy Commissioner from Latvia, on becoming the Eurocrat of 2006, according to the Economist magazine. We’re very proud.
Recent Comments