On Friday, 20 May, a procession will be organised in Riga to demand the immediate demolishing of the Soviet monument in Victory Park. Organisers expect approximately 5 000 people to attend.
The procession is expected to start at 18:00 and end at 20:00. It will start from the Freedom Monument and will continue on Kaļķu Street through Old Riga, them over the Stone Bridge to Pārdaugava, concluding at the monument to the Soviet army.
The official goal of this event is stated as a procession to liberate from Soviet heritage – removal of all monuments of Soviet ideology.
According to Riga municipal administration, currently there is no information that would indicate this event could be cancelled. Talks with organisers will continue. It is possible some road traffic restrictions may be imposed. This measure may be reported separately.
Musician Ralfs Eilands announced the procession on Twitter.
He was not the one who submitted the request to permit the procession to the municipal administration. A different person submitted the request.
Following the events that transpired in Riga, Victory Park, last week, there has been public condemnation and invitations for protests from people who traditionally celebrate 9 May and people who condemn Russia’s aggressive action and want to put a stop of celebration of the Soviet army in Latvia.
On 9 May, a large number of people came to the monument in Victory Park. These people, according to them, came to celebrate the victory of the Soviet army in WWII. This event, like in previous years, caused some confusion among many of Latvia’s more patriotic residents who believe celebration of 9 May is actually celebration of Latvia’s occupation.
The next morning a video was posted on the internet, showing a tractor collecting the flowers left by people at the monument and throwing them into a trash container.
Those who came at to the monument on 9 May viewed this as an insult and came to the monument again on 10 May, bringing more flowers with them and continuing to celebrate Victory Day.
Police were dispatched to keep the situation under control, but they did not interfere much – some of the people were detained for using prohibited and war-glorifying symbols. Nevertheless, authorities received considerable backlash do to ‘lacking response’ to the situation.
Read also: Latvia’s President: the monument left by Soviet occupants in Pārdaugava must be dismantled
The situation surrounding the monument in Victory park on 9th and 10th of May has also forced Minister of the Interior Marija Golubeva to resign under pressure.
As previously reported, Riga City Council has approved the dismantling of the Soviet monument in Pārdaugava. Latvian residents have already donated nearly EUR 254 000 to a charity to finance the monument’s dismantling.