Latvija in brief - 2012-03-29

Doctor of Physics Ivars Lacis and Doctor of Arts Ojars Sparitis are the candidates for the next Latvian Academy of Sciences presidency, reports LETA. A new president will be elected for the Academy of Sciences, as President Juris Ekmanis’ second four-year term of office will end in April. Traditionally, the outgoing president remains the academy’s vice-president, member of the Senate and the Presidium. The vote on the next president is set for April 12. Lacis’ academic work dates back to 1969, when he became a senior researcher at the University of Latvia’s Physics and Mathematics school. Lacis specializes in eye perception, eye movement, stereo vision, binocular eyesight instability, crystallic growth, glass structure. Sparitis is a professor at the Art Academy of Latvia. Sparitis supervised restoration of several sacral culture monuments in Latvia: Priekule, Straupe, Strutele, Annenieki, Liepupe churches, St. Peter’s Church in Riga and Resurrection Church at the Riga Great Cemetery. Sparitis also participated in the reconstruction of the House of Blackheads in Riga and several Latvian manors.

In his address at Riga’s Freedom Monument on March 25 marking 1949 Deportations Day, President Andris Berzins said that in tandem with remembering past events, a strong and mighty nation must be brought about. He underlined that the future must be paved while recalling the past, and people together must make sure that such tragedies never occur again. Latvia must become a country with self-respect, and respect worldwide, he declared. He urged one and all to bow their heads today in respect and honor for the thousands deported to Siberia on March 25, 1949.