All About Latvia

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With all that important hullabaloo over the arrest of Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs, we need not forget our sense of humor.

A Latvian blogger Onslovs who creates Photoshop caricatures on the political life in Latvia, posted this image on his V-Diena blog. It’s quite telling of the mood of the Latvian public when it comes to government (hat tip: Peteris).

My rough translation:

Attention!

Dear inmates. Our weekly walk on March 20 has been canceled. Everyone should gather in the prison hall where a remote official meeting of the government will take place. You will have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with ministers and have your questions answered.

The Administration

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In a national referendum on the future of the current Parliament, 44.3 percent of Latvian voters — who said they would vote — will vote for its dissolution, according to the data by Latvijas Fakti.

Nearly a quarter of the country’s residents would support dissolution of the current Saeima. Nearly a half of the residents said they would participate in a national referendum to dissolve the Parliament.

This is why the Government and the ruling parties are not interested in a referendum on this or any other issue.

According to the Constitution, the President can dissolve the Parliament.

The President of State shall have the right to propose the dissolution of the Saeima. This shall be followed by a referendum. If in the referendum more than one-half of the votes are cast in favour of dissolution, the Saeima shall be considered as dissolved and new elections shall be proclaimed. These elections shall take place within two months after the dissolution of the Saeima.

Upon dissolution of the Saeima, its members shall retain their powers until the newly-elected Saeima has assembled. The former Saeima may only assemble on being convened by the President of State. The agenda for such sittings shall be determined by the President of State.

If in the referendum the dissolution of the Saeima is opposed by more than one-half of the votes cast, the President of State shall be regarded as dismissed and the Saeima shall elect a new President of State for the remaining period of office of the President who has been dismissed.

The photo shows the Saeima building in the Old Riga

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History rears its ugly head every year on March 16. People to the East and the West of Latvia can understand remembering those who had been deported to Siberia. But remembering those who fought along side with the Nazis leaves a bad taste in their mouths.

And that’s all about what it is — perception. Last year under the public pressure, the authorities opened the Freedom Monument in Riga, which was surrounded by a 6-foot fence for restoration purposes, specifically to accommodate those who wished to commemorate March 16.

That day, I spoke to a couple of retirees who came to the monument in the heart of Latvia’s capital to lay a couple of flowers on its steps. They didn’t talk about SS, or the Nazis; they didn’t idolize the Nazi occupation of Latvia during World War II.

They came to remember.

They were not a part of the Visu Latvijai procession last year from the Occupation Museum to the Freedom Monument wrapped in the Latvian banners, led by the cross. Instead, they chose to stand by the monument, remembering their relatives, deported to Siberia or shot by the Soviets.

Peteris Cedrins, who has a better and a reasonable handle on the historic events than I do, writes:

“We’re quite accustomed to an annual scandal on March 16th, when a few surviving veterans of the Latvian Legion commemorate the sacrifices of Latvians who served in the Waffen-SS during the Second World War (it should be noted that not only ethnic Letts did so, by the way — for those who read Latvian or Russian, there is an article entitled “Latvia’s Russians on Hitler’s Side in the Battle Against Bolshevism” available here), most of them forcibly (and illegally) conscripted. The former Legionnaires, who never had any sympathy for Nazism and try to go about their memorial services solemnly, are lately outnumbered by loud Russophone radicals (including even Cossacks) and young Lettish extremists. Last year, in what many saw as a sign of post-Soviet repression, the Freedom Monument was fenced off to prevent clashes — this year, five groups of radically different persuasions have received permission to gather.

“March 16th is marked because it was the one occasion when both Latvian divisions fought side by side against the Soviets, in the Ostrov sector of the Eastern Front — otherwise, the Germans were careful to keep the Latvians apart. Not an official day of rememberance (in fact, the President advised true patriots to stay at home), it is nonetheless the focus not only of ragtag radical groups on both sides of the fence — it is an annual public relations débâcle diligently amplified by Moscow.”

And the debacle it is. Look at the Itar-Tass story written today. It smells of the Soviet-style journalism, twisting and turning events to suit the official purpose.

RIGA, March 16 (Itar-Tass) – Latvian extremist organizations are holding public rallies on the Waffen SS Latvian legion memory day that is not on the list of official dates of the country.

Russian-speaking antifascists will simultaneously hold actions to counter them. Local police are on the alert for preventing possible provocations.

The Riga Duma’s (legislature) commission for meetings, processions and pickets has given the extremists the permission to hold their events having in advance consulted the country’s security agencies. Last year, the Riga Duma banned any right radical organisations’ actions on the day and the country’s main monument of Freedom and the entire adjoining square were encircled by a two-metre high fence for the sake of avoiding mass riots. A year before that, the March 16 events ended in clashes between the extremists, police and representatives of local Russian-speaking antifascist organizations.

Two Latvian Waffen SS divisions were created by Germans in 1943. After Latvia’s separation from the USSR, March 16 was during several years an official memory date. However, after a procession of Waffen SS members in the centre of the city caused an extremely negative reaction both in Russia and in the West, the country’s leadership decided to cross it out from the list of memory dates.

Oh how thee lie and doth not blush.

1. “…the entire adjoining square were encircled by a two-metre high fence for the sake of avoiding mass riots..” Actually, because of the hullabaloo over the March 16 events last year, the Duma finally opened the fence to allow for some events.

2. “…The Riga Duma’s (legislature) commission for meetings, processions and pickets has given the extremists the permission to hold their events having…” What? The antifascists organizations were not given permission? Oh, wait, this means that the extremists should not have been given a permission. So the freedom of expression, the freedom of speech, the freedom of gathering concerns only those who support the official point of view of the Russian government, right? Any organization holding such a blasphemous event such as the events of March 16 ought to be banned, right?

And while Latvia may be losing the public relation battle of perception of being a Nazi supporter, it must be noted — as Peteris pointed out — that Latvia has gone far beyond in peacefully developing democratic and parliamentary principles than our neighbor to the East. Latvia has been ranked above the U.S. in press freedom mere 15 years since it gained independence from the Soviet Union. And while the radicals on both sides conduct their meetings and marches on this day, in the fall parliamentary elections, NSS, a Latvian radical group, received pithy 1,172 votes, or 0.13 percent, while Visu Latvijai, another political party, gained 13,469 votes, or 1.48 percent.

So much for the perception.

The photo taken today from apollo.lv.

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