March 15, 2006
A march commemorating Latvian soldiers who fought for the Nazis has been cancelled. A special commission of Latvia’s parliament cancelled the rally by the "Latvian SS Legion" on Tuesday, two days before the event was to take place. The commission cited security concerns, as the event has been drawing fierce criticism from anti-nationalist, pro-Russian groups announced that they would stage protests. The president of the Baltic country, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, has also spoken out against the march, saying it brought unnecessary negative attention to Latvia. Nationalist organizations vowed that they would go ahead with Thursday’s event regardless of the cancellation. Last spring, the event made international headlines when protesters violently clashed with marchers.
