SS parade to take place in Latvia
Hundreds of SS veterans, many of whom participated in massacres of Jews, will take part in the annual parade in Riga. The Latvian government will not prohibit its members from participating in the event.
The parade is held every year on March 16. The government officially opposes its existence but does not prohibit it on the grounds of free speech. Politicians from nationalist parties have announced that they will participate in the parade. The Latvian government does not prohibit ministers from participate in the parade, but requires them to take time off work.
The Nazi parade will be faced with a counter-demonstration by anti-fascists. The police, fearing confrontations, has already announced that it will take care and separate the two parties.
Alex Tenzer, an Israeli expert on Russian media, says similar parades take place in other countries such as Lithuania and Ukraine. "This is a phenomenon in Eastern Europe," he says. "They shamelessly refer to these people as heroes even though they massacred Jews and collaborated with the Nazis. How is it possible that Israel is silent when the Nazis are marching proudly down the street?"
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nachshon said in response: "This is an obscene parade of old Nazis. The embassy is working to prevent the shameful event in cooperation with the Latvian government, which has also expressed its complete rejection of the parade."
