People keep flocking to Soviet-era monument in Riga park also in the evening

• Published date: 09 May 2022
• Publication title: LETA

RIGA, May 9 (LETA) - People kept flocking to a Soviet-era monument in a park in Pardaugava, Riga, on Monday evening to lay flowers at the fence surrounding the memorial.

On the whole, the situation at the memorial to the Soviet army was calm, with no conflicts or provocations reported so far. A queue of several hundred people was moving towards the monument. Most people placed their flowers and left, but some remained to stand on the side and watch.

People, mostly families with children, continued to arrive at the moment in great numbers from all directions. Several Ukrainian flags and a couple of Latvian flags could also been seen.

Police were out in force to monitor the goings-on.

Earlier in the day, law enforcement authorities detained eight persons and started 15 administrative offenses over various breaches on May 9 in Latvia, the State Police informed.

Most of the violations recorded by 15:00 involved use of symbols glorifying military aggression and war crimes like the St. George's Ribbon. Some persons were detained for petty hooliganism.

In Riga, five persons were detained and taken to a police station for wearing the St. George's Ribbon, refusing to remove them, petty hooliganism and attending public places under the influence of alcohol.

There have also been several dozen cases where persons complied with police orders to remove the banned symbols of military aggression.

One of the inquiries launched by the police involved a six-year-old child dressed in a Soviet-style military uniform.

Several people were arrested for similar violations also in Latvia's second largest city Daugavpils. A local activists who had taken to the social networks to...