Latvia offers space for Radio Free Europe HQ

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is considering an offer from the Latvian government to relocate to Riga. But company officials say they would prefer to stay in Prague if an agreement on a new facility can be reached.

The U.S.-funded radio broadcaster has been asked to leave its present offices inside the Czech Republic's former Parliament building because of fears it could be a terrorist target.

"We have received an invitation to come to Latvia by the prime minister (Andris Berzins), and we really appreciate it," said Radio Free Europe spokeswoman Sonia Winter.

The broadcaster is currently in negotiations with the cash-strapped Czech government to fund a move to another building in Prague, Agence France-Presse reported.

"There are no real concrete plans of moving," Winter said. "We are still sort of settling in after our move to Prague from Munich six years ago. But there is this heightened awareness after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States last year," Winter said.

The offer to move Radio Free Europe to Riga was first suggested in May by the current head of Latvian state television, Uldis Grava, who was previously Radio Free Europe's marketing development manager.

Berzins has said he believes the move to Latvia will boost the country's prestige and economy. He offered the use of several vacant floors in the state television's 20-story building in Riga.

Karlis Streips, a freelance reporter for Radio Free Europe in Latvia, doubts the move to Riga will happen because the organization has already expressed its wish to stay in Prague.

"Also, the building (Berzins) suggested is not big enough for this kind of organization," Streips said.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty broadcasts in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucuses region and the Middle East and estimates its audience at 35 million listeners daily.