RIGA - The increased police presence that had been present in Riga's Old Town since riots shook the city on Jan. 13 have been called off.
Andris Dzenis, the head of the Riga regional police department, said on the days following Jan. 13 other functions ofthe law enforcement authorities, such as criminal investigations, had beenhampered. Night patrols were stepped up during that period, and most ofthe officers involved were unable to stick to their regular workingschedule.
Analyzing the events of the night of the unrest, law enforcementauthorities concluded that the Old Town was unsuitable for such largepublic events and that other places should be used for staging such massrallies. At the same time, police said, it is necessary to asses theresponsibility of organizers of the rally, the opposition party Societyfor Other Politics, and rules are needed to regulate the distance betweendemonstrators and government buildings, Dzenis said.
Members of the Riga City Council security and public order affairscommittee agreed that staging such public events should berestricted in the Old City, but noted that they should not be bannedaltogether. Raimonds Vilde, chairman of the committee, said the number ofparticipants at such events should be limited to 5,000 or 6,000 people.
