Protest against ACTA ratification to be held today

RIGA - A protest against the ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement or ACTA in Latvia will be held at the government building from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. today.

More than 400 people are expected to participate in the protest.

The protest was registered with the Riga City Council by programmer Danko Aleksejevs, who told LETA that the actual number of participants in the protest could be much bigger.

"We do not like this agreement and that it has been signed on behalf of the entire Latvia. They are saying that it is a good agreement, and that it will change nothing in Latvia's laws, but that is not so! A few sentences in the existing laws will change very much, and they are dangerous," said Aleksejevs.

Latvian Ambassador to Japan Peteris Vaivars signed the ACTA in the Latvian government's name on Jan. 26.

On Feb. 8, Economy Minister Daniels Pavluts halted ratification of the ACTA. He explained that he made the decision to block forwarding ACTA to Saeima for due to the attitude certain segments of the community have toward it, and the concern expressed by several experts about how ACTA could be enforced in Latvia.