A procession of former SS soldiers took place in Riga (PHOTO)
Riga - Kyiv, March 16 (Navigator, Mikhail Ryabov) - Today in the center of Riga a traditional procession of Latvian legionnaires, who were once part of the SS troops of Nazi Germany, took place.
Subscribe to Navigator Kyiv news >>>
Local law enforcement officers feared provocations due to the political situation in Ukraine and, in particular, in Crimea. However, social networks are already noting that this was the calmest march in recent years.
Every year on March 16, Latvia unofficially celebrates the Day of Remembrance of Latvian Legionnaires in honor of the soldiers of the Latvian Volunteer Legion, which was part of the SS troops. On this day, processions of former legionnaires and Latvian nationalists take place in Riga. Events also take place in the village of Lestene, where the brotherly cemetery of legionnaires is located. The commemoration of the day of remembrance is criticized by anti-fascist organizations.
According to Latvian News, today in Riga everything passed without serious incidents. About 2000 people took part in the procession. Anti-fascist pickets took place at Bastion Hill and at Domchik. After the service in the Dome Cathedral, several hundred former legionnaires and their supporters marched through the streets of Old Riga. In the first rows of the column were former legionnaires and their relatives, and behind them, holding the flags of the Baltic countries, were several politicians of the national unification, including the recently dismissed Minister of Environment and Regional Development Einar Tsilinskis.
The day before, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma dismissed the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Einar Cilinskis because, contrary to the government’s decision, he decided to participate in events in memory of the Latvian SS legionnaires.
Former legionnaires laid flowers at the monument, walking through the avenue of flags, and about a hundred anti-fascist supporters gathered near the fence erected around the Freedom Monument and greeted the march participants with shouts of “Fascists!”, “Shame!”
After laying flowers at the Freedom Monument, its participants, as well as the protesters, began to disperse. Law enforcement agencies were afraid of possible provocations, especially given the political situation in Ukraine and the referendum on the secession of Crimea taking place today. However, anti-fascists did not use sound amplification equipment today, and according to the police, no serious conflicts occurred during the event.
Seven people were detained today for administrative violations in the city - for the use of alcohol, drugs and petty hooliganism.
Former SS soldiers march in Riga (PHOTOS )