Bill about new street and square names must be adopted by 13th Saeima - Levits

RIGA - A bill about new street and square names that will remove names glorifying totalitarian regime, russification and its symbols from public domain must be adopted by the 13th Saeima, President Egils Levits said on Monday during a meeting with Karlis Kangeris, chairman of the board at the Collective Memory Center.

Kangeris and representatives from the Collective Memory Center today presented to Levits the bill about new street and square names, the President's Chancery informed LETA.

Levits acknowledged the Collective Memory Center's nation-wide list of streets and squares named after Soviet totalitarian regime leaders and their collaborators.

According to Levits, street and square name "or public space policies are part of the overall policy, which has a soft impact on people".

Members of the Collective Memory Center and Levits agreed that bill must be adopted during the 13th Saeima.

Levits pointed towards the need to completely get rid of legacy left by occupying power in his autumn session opening address at the parliament in September, saying that we have our own leaders, events, commemorative days after which we should name our streets and squares that contribute to the environment around us and our understanding of the past, we do not need names that belong to another hostile regime.

In addition to formalizing new street and square names, we should also encourage a debate on why the change is needed and why these street and square names have been chosen, Levits added.