May 9 passed without significant violations; 19 detainees / Article

Glorifies military aggression and war crimes

Assessing the administrative violations committed, individuals today most often glorified military aggression and war crimes in a public place in various ways and with various objects, including trying to bring flowers to the sites of already dismantled monuments.

Disobedience to the legal demands of police officers, being in a public place under the influence of alcohol, and most often these violations were carried out in combination with the glorification of military aggression, were also found. It should be mentioned that in some cases of administrative violations, persons are already brought to administrative responsibility at the scene, applying the maximum fine.

The most violations were in the Latgale region, they were detected in Rēzekne, Līvāni, Augšdaugava district and Daugavpils. Mostly they are related to the use of symbols of the Soviet era, but a criminal trial has also been started for glorifying the aggressor state. Violations were also found in the Riga region, Kurzeme and Zemgale.

There were also various even curious situations. At the end of the working day, in Daugavpils, in Dubrovina Park, the police officers recorded a woman who had arrived with flowers in the color of the Russian flag.

The person, noticing that she had attracted the attention of the law enforcement officers, sat down on the pavement and tried to talk to the police officers, complaining of heartache.

Meanwhile, her companion started filming the moaning women and what was happening with the camera ready. The law enforcement officers called medics, who performed a medical examination on her and determined that she was unharmed. The woman was released after drawing up an administrative violation decision for glorifying the aggressor in a public place.

On the other hand, in another case, the law enforcement officers met the violators on the doorstep of the house after leaving a car decorated with the symbols of the USSR. In this case too, the person was brought to justice.

Although several violations have been recorded, police observations show that this year a smaller number of people visited the places of events.

Two criminal proceedings and several administrative violations

A criminal trial for justifying genocide, crimes against peace and war crimes has been started in Daugavpils. The detained person ran out in front of the journalists’ cameras and expressed his opinion about the leader of the neighboring country.

But in the Jelgava cemetery, a man shot three times in the air with a gas pistol in order to glorify the aggressor country. Both the criminal process for the justification of genocide, crime against peace, and war crimes, as well as the administrative process for the use of a gas weapon, have been started for the incident.

Three persons were administratively detained in Salaspils. The men were under the influence of alcohol and were singing songs praising the aggressor country in a public place. One also had the forbidden Georga ribbon pinned to his clothing.

Two more persons were detained in Daugavpils and Rēzekne. One arrived in Daugavpils Dubrovina Park with a backpack with a prohibited symbol attached to it. Physical force had to be used to arrest this offender. In Rezekne, a person was arrested for placing flowers at the place of the demolished monument “Aloša”.

Most of the other administrative violations were also recorded in connection with the placement of flowers in the places where the dismantled Soviet monuments were located.

The services have also come to the attention of content from social media sites, where individuals have placed symbols glorifying May 9, military aggression and war crimes.

Vigilance will not be lost at night either

The police previously indicated that they would work in an enhanced mode on May 9, and although there was no information about an increased threat, the police emphasized that no provocations would be tolerated.

The head of the state police, Armands Ruks, stated that the police will be alert and ready for any situation even in the dark. He acknowledged that increased security measures and zero-tolerance warnings for any violations had paid off.

“Even though it is not forbidden to put flowers on graves, it has been recorded that flowers are arranged in the colors of the Russian flag. There is no need to create dual situations and challenge the law enforcement officers. We will do our job strictly, and we have to take that into account,” emphasized Ruk.

The services are also monitoring content on social websites where individuals post symbols glorifying military aggression and war crimes. As the police chief emphasizes, if signs of a criminal offense are detected, violators should expect the police to knock on the door.

Hundreds of people lay flowers in Daugavpils

In Daugavpils, in the vicinity of Dubrovina Park, where the memorial to the soldiers of the Soviet Army is located, it is allowed to place flowers, because it is a burial place. The flow of people, although smaller than in other years, did not decrease throughout the day, even increasing in the afternoon, the Latvijas Radio Latgales studio reported.

Dozens of police officers were on duty in Dubrovina Park; many police crews also in two other places in the city, where monuments to the Soviet army were dismantled less than two years ago.

Several people interviewed by Latvijas Radio in the park admitted that laying flowers is a “memory of ancestors” and honoring, one man emphasized that he does not want to think about politics and his desire to lay flowers is not related to politics or any political force.

Daugavpils opposition MP Jānis Lāčplēsis (“Latgales party”/Latvijas svīdas) said that this year the police work much better, control the situation, so there are no demonstrative and provocative actions, “but I can’t say that the mood of those for whom it was a holiday would be have changed, and as long as they live in the Russian information space, little can change there”.

Violations at the sites of dismantled monuments

In Latgale, violations were found in several places where monuments glorifying the Soviet regime were dismantled a year and a half ago. In the morning, a man wanted to leave flowers and a photo with the demolished monument in Rezekne. In Daugavpils, in the so-called Slava Alley, a passer-by tried to leave lilac flowers at the monument.

In Dubrovina Park, near the remains of soldiers buried in the center of Daugavpils in the 1980s, the crowding is the biggest. There are also the most violations found in Latgale.

“The number of violations is high, but attendance, people’s interest in staying here for a long time in the park is much lower than in the previous two years,” admitted Ansis Pumpurs, deputy head of the Main Order Police Department of the State Police.

Fines are usually imposed on the perpetrators for the detected violations on the spot. The police have also removed ribbons from individual wreaths.

“There were exclamations of a laudatory nature attached to the wreaths. In order to reduce this agitation around May 9 as such, we made a decision to remove the ribbons,” stated Pumpurs.

Some members of the Saeima also visited Dubrovina Park today.

The police in Liepāja record the use of Georga’s tape

In Liepāja, until the afternoon, the only fixed violation is the use of the prohibited symbol – Georg’s ribbon.

On the morning of May 9, heaps of flowers were laid in the memorial to the fallen Soviet soldiers in Liepāja’s Central Cemetery, but the atmosphere was calm. Both seniors and young people came there – mostly one by one or in small groups.

“For me, this holiday is like a celebration of life because we are living now, thanks to the fact that they, including my grandparents, freed the world from fascism. But about those monuments, it is the government’s decision. Let it rest on the conscience of those people, ” said Natalia from Liepāja.

The police informed that the use of the prohibited symbol – Georg’s tape – was noticed at the memorial site in Liepāja on Thursday, but did not comment on the circumstances of the incident.

“The process of an administrative violation has been initiated for the use of the symbol of the totalitarian regime in a public place,” informed Indulis Blīgzna, head of the Kurzeme region of the State Police.

A total of 20 police patrols are on duty throughout the city at the places of the dismantled monuments glorifying Soviet power. “A large part of our colleagues survey these marked places in patrol mode, stay there for a certain time, guided by the situation,” informed Blīgzna.

Until the afternoon, the State Police had not received calls from citizens about observed violations in Kurzeme. Law enforcement officers had also not found any violations in social networks.

CONTEXT:

In Europe, the end of World War II is celebrated on May 8. On May 8, 1945, the Allied forces accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, thus formally ending the nearly six-year-long World War II in Europe. After the German occupation, Latvia ended up under another – Soviet – occupation.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the fall of the Nazi German regime is celebrated on May 9, and many people in Latvia also considered this day to be celebrated.

Since May 9 of last year, festive and entertainment events that do not meet the interests of national security, glorify military aggression or falsely reflect historical events have been prohibited, as well as the use of pyrotechnics.

On May 9 of last year, the police in Latvia detained a total of 26 persons, initiated 38 administrative violation proceedings, and also initiated four criminal proceedings, the State Police informed. Several persons were also detained in connection with the violation of the ban on fireworks.