«I can say with ‘owner’s’ rights that the presence of a monument dedicated to the Soviet army in the centre of Riga, Victory Park is unacceptable to me, because it symbolizes Latvia’s occupation and reminds me of the atrocities the Soviet army committed in the war against Latvian and other countries’ civilian population,» said Latvian member of the European Parliament Inese Vaidere in an interview to BNN.
«Like many people of my generation, I can consider myself one of the ‘owners’ of the monument in Victory Park. It was built using people’s ‘voluntary’ donations. Since there wasn’t much enthusiasm, the amount was simply taken from people’s wages. They took ten roubles from my wage as people’s charity at the time! I know that other Latvian residents had deductions of this kind as well. This means we were forcibly made the monument’s owners. Maybe someone donated money voluntarily, but I don’t know any personally,» the Latvian MEP explained.
«I believe this monument has no place in Riga or Latvia,» stressed Vaidere, adding that the Saeima, Riga City Council or the government will need to decide on a solution – dismantle the monument or move it.
«Now is the time to do it, because it is unacceptable to glorify the army that is the direct descendant of the Soviet army and which commits atrocities in Ukraine. If some family wants to commemorate their relatives who died at war, they can do this at home or at a cemetery. This monument is a symbol of aggression and occupation of Latvia’s nation.»
The Ministry of Justice has proposed four solutions to remove the monument dedicated to the Soviet army from Victory Park in Riga, said the minister’s advisor Andris Vītols in an interview to Latvijas Radio.
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Following an order from politicians to provide solutions for the Victory Monument issue, the ministry’s representatives concluded that for most people in Latvia this monument is unacceptable, it basically splits society, and so the state has a duty to act.
According to Vītols, the Ministry of Justice has come up with four options. First, the ministry offers to check if Russia has breached its obligations in preserving and maintaining the 110 Latvian places of commemoration in Russia. If Russia does not maintain them and therefore does not follow the agreement, it may not be binding for Latvia, the ministry explained.
The second option is terminating the agreement due to the war, in which Russia is a participant.
The third option includes re-interpreting Section 13 of the agreement signed by Latvia and Russia in 1994, specifically if the agreement even covers this particular monument. Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far stressed that this article does cover this monument. However, the Ministry of Justice ‘is not in a hurry to agree’ with this view, said Vītols.
The fourth option proposed by the ministry includes moving the monument to some other place in Latvia. The final decision is in the hands of politicians, said Vītols.
Following the war Russia started in Ukraine, the question if a monument dedicated to the Soviet Army has any place in Latvia became a hot topic among politicians in this country.