To preserve the remaining Soviet monuments in Daugavpils, Latvian Russians Union (LKS) has turned to the UN Human Rights Committee.
The report was submitted to the UN by Vice-Mayor of Daugavpils Aleksejs Vasiljevs and 14th Saeima elections candidate Jekaterīna Stehnovska–Slavska.
LKS included in its report a request to the UN Human Rights Committee to ask Latvia to stop the Law on Prohibition of Display of Objects Praising the Soviet and Nazi Regimes and Their Dismantling on the Territory of the Republic of Latvia until the report has been reviewed by the committee in full.
According to the party’s representatives, the report also mentions as personal motivation the stories of relatives of the people who fought against fascism and suffered in WWII, as well as their wish to pass the memory of the victory over Nazism to their children.
Daugavpils City Council, which is threatened with dissolution by the Ministry of Environment Protection and Regional Development for alleged inaction with the dismantling of monuments, has turned to the Constitutional Court with a request to check the aforementioned law’s compliance with the Constitution.
«Considering there is no hope for an objective and apolitical verdict from the court, our party has decided to turn to the UN Human Rights Committee,» the party’s announcement mentions.
According to Vasiljevs, Daugavpils City Council has no plans to finance the demolition of Soviet monuments from the social and education budget as it is requested by the ministry, because this way demolition would be done ‘at the expense of poor residents and children’.
This is not the first time people are reaching out to the UN to protect Soviet monuments from demolition.
BNN previously reported that the UN Human Rights Committee reported its decision to ask Latvia to halt the demolition of the monument in Pārdaugava. However, this happened after the monument was already demolished.
Also read: UN committee belatedly requests to stop Soviet Victory Monument’s demolition in Pārdaugava
On 14 July 2022 the Cabinet of Ministers identified multiple objects glorifying Soviet and Nazi regimes in Latvia that have to be demolished. The government decided their demolition is to be completed by 15 November.
A total of 69 objects to be demolished have been identified in Latvia.