Demand for minister's resignation is opposition's tool - PM Silina

RIGA - Demand for a minister's resignation is the opposition's tool, Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said on Latvian Television on Wednesday, commenting on the National Alliance's decision to call for the resignation of Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity) over the public disorder caused by rioting Dutch football fans by the Freedom Monument in Riga last week.

Silina believes that the State Police must be able to maintain public order and prevent such mass misbehavior, especially near landmark sites and structures, including the Freedom Monument. She also believes that the law enforcement authorities had to foresee such events.

"Is this a matter of resignation demand? It definitely is a tool of the opposition, but at any rate, I think that such rioting should not have taken place by the Freedom Monument, it is unacceptable to me, which I already said," the prime minister stressed.

Silina has therefore instructed the minister of the interior and the State Police to make sure such sited are sealed off during such mass events like it is the case in many other countries.

"And we know that our authorities have such experience," Silina added.

As LETA reported, the National Alliance Board had a meeting with Kozlovskis on Monday. According to the party, on the night of January 23, Latvian law enforcement failed to protect the Freedom Monument, a national landmark, from the rampaging fans of Ajax Amsterdam, and the minister of the interior should assume political responsibility for this.

Although the authorities found that no physical damage has been caused to the monument, the symbolic damage is immeasurable, according to the National Alliance. "Any violation at this site is not only unacceptable and shameful, but also damages the foundations of statehood and casts a shadow on the ability of the authorities to respond in a timely manner to such and similar incidents," the opposition party states.

The National Alliance recognizes, however, that after the incidents by the Freedom Monument in the city center, police managed to maintain public order at the Daugava Stadium where the match between the Latvian and Dutch teams took place.

As reported, fans of the Dutch football club Ajax Amsterdam rioted in downtown Riga last Thursday night.

Earlier, there were fears that the Freedom Monument might have been damaged by firecrackers launched by some of the fans. On inspecting the monument on Friday it was found that the landmark monument was intact.

Police chief Armands Ruks told reporters on Friday morning that two criminal proceedings for hooliganism had been initiated by the police in connection with yesterday's events - one for the actions at the monument and one for the attack on Latvian Television (LTV) journalist Davids Freidenfelds. In another case, a shop window was smashed, but in this case the police are waiting for the owner's application. Several administrative offence proceedings have also been initiated for unauthorized drone flights over the Daugava Stadium.