MOSCOW, May 28 (Itar-Tass) ——The State Duma says the move to collect signatures for the demolition of the memorial to Soviet soldiers in Riga is another provocation aimed to sow discord among Latvian people, Dmitry Sablin of United Russia, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs and Ties with Compatriots, thus commented to reporters on the collection of signatures for pulling down the memorial to Soviet soldiers that began in the internet.
“It is apparent that Latvian nationalists, while their score worsens, try to do all they can to catch attention and get more supporters,” said the MP. “They resort again to the mockery of the history of their country and of their own people,” Sablin stressed.
“It is easier to dwell on the past. This way a politician is not asked to deliver. This does not involve coping with social or economic tasks, nor even with the foreign policy strategy,” Sablin said.
“First of all, Latvia is a country of the European Union where the exploit of Great Victory is generally recognized,” Sablin said. “Second, a certain covert confrontation with Russia is not in keeping with principles of pragmatism and economic expediency which, after the global crisis, come to the fore in international relations,” he said. “So it is apparent to anyone that these political outrages are nothing more than attempts to play of feelings of the country’s people,” he said.
“I hope Latvia’s residents will adequately react to another destructive move and will not show much interest in it,” he said. “What is more, I am absolutely sure that it is unacceptable for civil servants and representatives of the authorities to support this irresponsible undertaking,” he said. “They should realize that this is, first and foremost, a provocation, an attempt to sow enmity, to set people at loggerheads,” Sablin noted.
“I have no doubt that Latvian laws, just as legal norms in any civilized country, envisage responsibilities for such things. Representatives of the authorities are called upon to strengthen understanding among people, to look for ways to overcome negative stereotypes and distrust among various groups of people and exert efforts to create a favorable social climate,” said the MP.