On Thursday, 12 May, Latvia’s Saeima passed in the final reading amendments proposed by the Foreign Affairs Committee, lifting legal obstacles and opening the way for the demolition of the Soviet monument located in Victory Park, Riga.
Amendments were passed to the Law on Agreements between the Republic of Latvia and the Russian Federation signed in Moscow on 30 April, 1994.
The passed law states that Section 13 of the agreement reached between the governments of the Russian Federation and Republic of Latvia on social protection of military pensioners of the Russian Federation and their family members residing in the territory of the Republic of Latvia is no longer in effect. This section provided for the protection and maintenance of memorials in Latvia.
Section 13 of this agreement will be halted as of 16 May 2022 and will remain so until Russia ceases violation of international law in relation to Ukraine, pulls its armed forces from Ukraine’s territory and fully restores Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with international law and fully compensates Ukraine for violations committed against the country.
Chairman of Saeima’s Foreign Affairs Committee Rihards Kols previously stated that once this decision has been made, «it will be possible to demolish the occupation pole».
In his interview to TV3, Kols said in parallel to that Latvia should adopt a law that would provide for the removal of Soviet memorials, with terms and state financing for this endeavour.
Riga City Council chairman Mārtiņš Staķis told Latvijas Radio programme Krustpunktā that the Saeima will need to pass a special law to ensure this monument is demolished as soon as possible. The politician also said that Riga City Council will need help demolishing the monument in Victory Park.
As it is known, the ruling coalition in Latvia has reached an agreement on support for law amendments that are intended to remove all legal obstacles in the way to demolishing the monument in Victory Park, Pārdaugava.
This was confirmed by Latvia’s PM Krišjānis Kariņš, National Alliance chairman Raivis Dzintars, Attīstībai/Par! Saeima faction leader Juris Pūce and Minister of Transport Tālis Linkaits after a meeting of coalition parties earlier this week.«The aforementioned solution is legally correct. This will both secure Latvia so that the country continues acting appropriately as a country ruled by law and our obligations as a country ruled by law and a subject of international law, while also affirming to Latvia’s policy and commitment to supporting Ukraine. It will also serve as our society’s unified reaction to Russia’s aggression,» said Pūce.
Dzintars said this agreement can be abolished only by the parliament, considering that this body was the one that ratified the agreement in the first place.
Linkaits said he is happy that another document – the legislative draft submitted by the Conservative Party on this topic – has also gained traction to speed up Saeima’s decision in regards to removal of the monument in Pārdaugava and other memorials from the public space. It is important that on a municipal level officials have a clear understanding how this can be done quickly and in accordance with the law, stressed the politician.
Kariņš reminded that a large majority of Latvia residents is against the existence of «monuments glorifying the occupation» in the country.
As it is known, since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the topic of the Victory monument in Riga and the possibility of its demolishing has become a hot topic in Latvia.