In the event of approval of the Law on Prohibition of Display of Objects Glorifying the Soviet and Nazi Regimes and Their Dismantling in the Territory of the Republic of Latvia, the political party Harmony will not rile up residents to oppose the demolition of the Victory Monument in Pārdaugava.
In his interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds, Harmony leader Jānis Urbanovičs said that, considering last week’s debates on the aforementioned law made it clear the issue of the monument’s demolition is not about monuments – it is an attempt to insult, irritate and humiliate the people who value those monuments.
«During last Thursday’s debates we heard only hate speech, which only increased the feeling of being insulted for many Latvian residents,» said the Saeima deputy.
According to the politician, the demolition of Soviet monuments, if at all necessary, should be discussed after serious public discussions and during times of peace.
Urbanovičs stressed that any action should be evaluated in the context of potential pros and cons for Latvia. According to him, discussions about monuments’ demolition helps distract society from the government’s unfulfilled tasks that are «screaming for attention».
At the same time, he promised Harmony will not rile up people or oppose the law, because «any protests or non-compliance with the law will be a punishable offence».
«We will do what we can to convince people to accept this situation peacefully,» stressed Urbanovičs.
Commenting on Harmony’s offer for 14th Saeima elections, the politician stressed that, considering the Russian-Ukrainian war, Harmony will try to motivate non-Latvians living in the country to consider this country their only homeland.
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«This won’t be easy, considering the xenophobic rhetoric coming from the coalition. We do, nonetheless, believe this is important. This task alone is an indication Latvia needs Harmony,» said the party’s leader.