02:53Latvia: Police completely blocks access to Liberators' Monument in Riga
Police officers closed the entrance to the Liberators' Monument in Riga's Victory Park on Wednesday.
Ruptly footage shows city services putting up a fence, while police are on duty near the monument and preventing people with flowers from laying bouquets at the monument.
"I laid flowers at the Milda, the [Freedom] Monument, on Independence Day. I also laid flowers at this monument on Victory Day. This is the victory of the whole nation, of the whole world. And now some person, they didn't tell me who, has given orders to forbid me to go to the monument today and lay flowers. This is absurd. This is not democracy or freedom. And I am sorry that I now live in such a state," Tamara, a resident of Riga, said.
The Riga police website reported that authorities decided to close the entrance to the monument 'in order to prevent a threat to public safety, human life, health, and property, as well as to prevent possible provocations and aggravations, and to suppress violations as much as possible.'
Commenting on the situation in the media, Russian Ambassador to Latvia Mikhail Vanin said that the Latvian authorities took this step because they were afraid of the scale of support for the Liberators from the citizens.
"They were afraid to see the scale of the memory and gratitude of Riga's residents to soldiers-liberators. The picture we see - an ocean of flowers, an ocean of lit candles - it's just dangerous for the authorities. They're afraid of it," Vanin said.
Earlier, Riga authorities raked away with a tractor all the flowers laid at the Liberators' Monument on Victory Day. Later, residents began to bring flowers and candles to the monument again.
The Russian Embassy in Latvia defined the authorities' decision as 'the limitless rudeness'.
02:53Police officers closed the entrance to the Liberators' Monument in Riga's Victory Park on Wednesday.
Ruptly footage shows city services putting up a fence, while police are on duty near the monument and preventing people with flowers from laying bouquets at the monument.
"I laid flowers at the Milda, the [Freedom] Monument, on Independence Day. I also laid flowers at this monument on Victory Day. This is the victory of the whole nation, of the whole world. And now some person, they didn't tell me who, has given orders to forbid me to go to the monument today and lay flowers. This is absurd. This is not democracy or freedom. And I am sorry that I now live in such a state," Tamara, a resident of Riga, said.
The Riga police website reported that authorities decided to close the entrance to the monument 'in order to prevent a threat to public safety, human life, health, and property, as well as to prevent possible provocations and aggravations, and to suppress violations as much as possible.'
Commenting on the situation in the media, Russian Ambassador to Latvia Mikhail Vanin said that the Latvian authorities took this step because they were afraid of the scale of support for the Liberators from the citizens.
"They were afraid to see the scale of the memory and gratitude of Riga's residents to soldiers-liberators. The picture we see - an ocean of flowers, an ocean of lit candles - it's just dangerous for the authorities. They're afraid of it," Vanin said.
Earlier, Riga authorities raked away with a tractor all the flowers laid at the Liberators' Monument on Victory Day. Later, residents began to bring flowers and candles to the monument again.
The Russian Embassy in Latvia defined the authorities' decision as 'the limitless rudeness'.