The Riga city council has rained on Latvian National Democratic Party's and Russian nationalist union Rodina's parade - specifically, by not allowing it. The two groups attempted to organize a "Russian March" to take place on Saturday, September 8th. The decision to ban the march came from the city council's meetings, processions and protests committee, which was advised by the police not to let the march take place.
The police believe that the parade would turn into an intolerance event, which could easily lead to violence at worst, and an atmosphere of hatred at best. This comes at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and most of the Baltics, who are trying to shed their Soviet pasts despite having large ethnic Russian populations present in their societies. Riga's own population is split more or less evenly between ethnic Russians and Latvians, which occasionally creates an atmosphere of tension. The city council believes a Russian parade would provide the spark to turn that tension into something much worse. However, the Russian nationalist groups are expected to file a lawsuit protesting the decision, and perhaps opening the way to a parade, though at a later time. |