MOSCOW, September 18 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian Foreign Ministry
has expressed indignation over a monument, recently established
in the Latvian town of Bauska, to former police battalions
which belonged to the Legion of the Latvian Waffen SS.
The establishment of the monument to the SS "butchers" responsible
for numerous acts of atrocity against the peaceful population
of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, is a disgraceful act, an
insult to the memories of the victims of Nazi regime, the
Russian Foreign Minister declared on Tuesday. It was a particular
cynical act also because the organizers of this atrocious
act involved schoolchildren in it in a bid to imbue the children
with xenophobic, anti-Semitic and racial prejudices, the
Foreign Ministry said. Moscow states with regret that far
from everywhere international partners harboring in Latvia
demonstrated an adequate reaction to the practice of turning
Nazi criminals into heroes.
A monument to the "butchers"'
from three police battalions which belonged to the Latvian
Waffen SS Legion was opened in the town of Bauska in Latvia
on September 14. This a first monument built to the Nazi "butchers" who are responsible for the death of hundreds of peaceful civilians. A plaque
established on the granite monument which is two meters high
says that this is "a monument to the defenders of Bauska against the second Soviet occupation on
July 28- September 14, 1944." Following beneath is a quotation from a speech made by the last president of
pre- war Latvia Karlis Ulmanis, who declared that" Latvia should be a Latvian state."
The Nazis established two Latvian Waffen SS divisions in
1943. After Latvia seceded from the former Soviet Union
and for several years since March 16 had been observed
in Latvia
as an official remembrance day of the Latvian Legion.
After marches staged by the former SS servicemen in the
city center aroused strong criticism in Russia and in
the West
a decision was made to drop March 16 from a calendar
of memorable dates.
itar-tass.com
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