Statement of Workers’ Front of Latvia On Demolition of Monument to Liberators in Riga

On August 26, 2022, the UN responded to the statement of five members of the WFL demanding to prevent the demolition of the Liberators Monument in Riga. Isn’t that why Riga authorities were in such a hurry to tear down the central stele of the monument on the 25th of August?

On June 1, 2022, the WFL announced a fundraiser to protect the Monument from illegal demolition. In a few hours the money necessary for a lawyer’s work was collected. The lawsuit was expectedly rejected by all Latvian authorities, and an appeal to the Constitutional Court was filed on August 8. Before filing an application to the UN, it was necessary to wait for the answer of the Constitutional Court, which has not yet made any decision.

After the barbaric demolition of the first figures of the Monument, there was a basis for filing an application to the UN without waiting for the Constitutional Court to respond, so the application was filed on August 24. The UN should have responded within 72 hours (it usually takes 6–10 hours). But this time the answer came only 36 hours later. This is the first time this has happened in our lawyer’s practice. Why the UN decision was belated is still unknown.

The UN demanded that Latvian government agencies stop the demolition of the monument until a final decision is made. Parts of already destroyed figures of the monument are also to be preserved.

The UN was late, and the distraught authorities of Riga, on the contrary, acted with lightning speed. Where did such a rush come from? It was initially supposed to be demolished in September. Why was it suddenly necessary to make a decision about immediate demolition at the operative meeting at the Riga City Council in the evening of August 24? The answers to these questions are obvious.

It was not just any sculpture that was demolished, but the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders. Therefore, those who made the decision to demolish it, promoted it, justified it, those who rejoiced over the fall of this true Statue of Liberty, are themselves ideological followers of the German Fascist Invaders, capable not only of barbarism, but also of crimes against humanity.