Foreign radicals on Latvia’s "black list"

A number of radicals are planning to be in Latvia to participate in the March 16 Latvian Legion Day events in downtown Riga. In order to prevent this, these radicals will be included on the so-called "black list", Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (Reform Party) confirmed to LETA.

The minister could not give a precise number of these persons. The Interior Ministry is actively cooperating with the Foreign Ministry to also make sure that large groups of radicals are banned entry. The Border Guard has been warned about the possibility that such groups could attempt to cross the border, said the minister.

Security Police Chief Janis Reiniks previously told LETA that the Security Police had information that a number of radicals could arrive in Latvia for the March 16 Latvian Legion Day events. Reiniks said then, however, that these persons would not be included in the "black list".

According to the Security Police, these persons may come from, for instance, Lithuania and Estonia, and that there were both supporters of the Latvian Legion day as well as opponents. Reiniks said that the total number of these radicals was small, therefore the Security Police did not believe them to pose any particular risks.

As reported, the Riga City Council has authorized four various events in Riga downtown on March 16, on provision that participants in these events do not use loudspeakers.