Aksenoks worried about March 16 provocations; Kalvitis warns against hasty decisions

  • 2006-03-08
Riga Mayor Aivars Aksenoks suggested this week that a terrorist act could take place during a planned march of Latvian Legionnaires, while a City Council member hinted that the city would not permit the event for fear of public safety.

Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, however, downplayed the threat of a terrorist act and instead suggested that provocations were being organized so that journalists could film the melee and thereby harm Latvia's reputation.

"A terror act is a very serious signal 's by using this term recklessly we divert people's attention," Kalvitis said. "It is clear that provocations will be organized, it is clear that the date will be used for political ends, and it is clear that there will be attempts to use this date on international level to humiliate the Latvian state."

Nationalist movements have vowed to show up for the march, while individuals representing the non-Latvian minorities have also said they would turn out en masse to block the World War II veterans from reaching the Freedom Monument.

Aksenoks is a member of New Era, while Kalvitis heads the People's Party. While both parties are in the ruling coalition in the national and Riga governments, they are at odds on many issues.