Saturday, November 22, 2008

Should have seen it coming

I found this article in the web version of the City Paper:

If you’re upset with Latvia’s Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, it’s probably best you don’t write and tell him so. State security police visited the home of Latvian citizen, Marija Vidina, who was described in the press as “an old lady,” to issue her a warning against possible “threats” made to the prime minister.

Vidina write the prime minister regularly. In this letter, Vidina wrote that Prime Minister Kalvitis was either “a complete idiot or had been hypnotized by Putin.” She also noted that President Vaira Vike-Freiberga’s recent move blocking two amendments to national security laws have “given a muzzle to the prime minister.” The security police warned her that is unacceptable to write to the PM in such a manner, though the police admit that no actual threat to state officials were established during the investigation, but that the “content of the letter reveals violation of a person’s dignity and reputation.” The security police’s press service confirmed they acted by request of the PM’s office..


Don't have the exact date, but it did happen in the last couple of years. People laughed it off. They won't laugh anymore as the repression spreads.

For Latvian readers, a comment on my Facebook page points out that this was also reported by the daily newspaper Diena: 
http://jauna.diena.lv/lat/politics/printed/peec_dusmiigas_veestules_kalviitim_pensionaari_apmeklee_droshiibas_policija

1 comment:

Klāvs Sedlenieks said...

There is another issue that went almost unnoticed - about virtual closing of an anti-Zatlers page. I tried to investigate what happened there but could not get any answers from those who might have been responsible. So I described what I had in this page: http://zatleramne.wikidot.com/cenzura (it's in Latvian). Who knows if that is anyway close to what happened, but unwillingness of representatives of the Security police and Zatlers's office to reply hint me that my guess might be correct.