The Latvian president Raimonds Vejonis has signed the law that grants equal rights to the Red Army veterans of and SS, reports TASS.
Now the participants of WWII in the Baltic Republic are the people who had Latvian citizenship as of June 17 1940. This is the day that Riga calls the beginning of invasion. The participants of the World War II are the citizens of Latvia, who fought against the Soviet power and also Hitler’s Germany. The status of the participant of the WWII will not be granted to the members of NSDAP and the representatives of the Third Reich military structures and collaborationists, as well as to the members of KGB USSR and LSSR. Non-citizens cannot have the rights of the WWII participants.
It is worth reminding that earlier the social democratic party Harmony, representing interests of Russian-speaking citizens of the republic encouraged the head of state to send the project back to the parliament. The Latvian society against fascism made the same request.
The Russian Union in Latvia believes that this law is an insult to the whole Russian-speaking community. Social activists are sure that the Latvian are trying to re-write history. The government is trying to humiliate the winners and show the Russians once again who owns the country.
Earlier Russian Foreign-policy establishment expressed their disapproval. The official representative of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Maria Zakharova called this law another step in the process of acquitting Fascist criminals.
Russkiy Mir
