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Riga Okays SS March
Riga city authorities have given permission for Latvian SS veterans to march on Legionnaire's Day March 16. Members of the radical Union of National Forces will join them as will representatives of the National Democratic Party of Germany. Observers say that there may be serious clashes between the nationalists and antifascists, for the first time in the holiday's 20-year history.
The Latvian volunteer SS legion was formed in 1943. It saw action on March 16, 1944, near Ostrov in Pskov Region. Of the 150,000 soldiers, about 40,000 were killed, 50,000 were taken prisoner and the remainder fled to other countries of Western Europe.
An application to hold public events on Legionnaire's Day was filed with the Riga City Council (which is the only body that grants those permits) at the end of February, and a decision was made on Monday to allow the SS veteran to march, and to prohibit antifascists and nationalists to do so. Latvian Interior Minister Marek Seglins voiced the opinion last week that the city council should not allow the holiday to be observed in public.
Viktor Birze, leader of the Union of National Forces, said that his group will take part in the events of day even without permission, which was denied on the grounds that the group official does not exist. Members of the neo-Nazi German National Democratic Party will also come for the march. Members of that party were recently elected to local parliaments in eastern Germany It also gained notoriety with its demand to name Winston Churchill a war criminal.
Antifascists also intend to take action on that day. Police fear that clashes may take place on a much greater scale than they did in 2005 and 2007. The event was not permitted in 2006.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 12, 2008
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