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Riga under siege during NATO summit [Russians Dissed]
The bustling Baltic city of Riga is under siege: thousands of soldiers are on the streets, there are checkpoints at every corner and helicopters crowd the skies. For older Latvians, this might have eerie echoes of 1944, when the Soviets began their occupation (but without the mass arrests, mass executions, and the mass deportations.) . Except that in this case, the city is being taken over by an army of NATO delegates and government leaders.The Baltic capital has never before staged such a massive, high security event. It's a logistical nightmare for this tiny country That's a cue for a grumbling man-on-the street quote. "I can't get to work, there is virtually no public transport and I have had to shut my business for three days. How on earth am I going to make up those lost wages?,"one old man grumbles. See? Symbolism But the prestige and the political symbolism for this former Soviet state in hosting the NATO summit is enormous: "It's great to be back in Riga!,'' the US president beamed as he arrived. "It's a proud day for the people of Latvia and all the Baltic states. Here in the Baltics many can recall the early days of the Cold War. In 1944, the Soviet Red Army marched in. But six decades later the Soviet Union is no more and the Alliance is meeting in the capital of a free Latvia." Now that's a Reaganesque moment. Large minority Moscow is reportedly furious at the summit being hosted right on its doorstep. President Putin, as a non-NATO member, was not invited to attend but threatened to gate-crash the VIP gathering. But now that Latvia's a NATO member, that 1944 thing becomes problematic... It has also ruffled feathers among Riga's large Russian minority. Russians makes up 30 per cent of the population and the Russian-language media here are enraged by this former opponent of the Soviet Union setting up camp here. Image Now read this :) But most Latvians see it as a boost to the new EU state's image. "It will put the country on the world map at last,"says one elderly man. "But I do think the security's completely over the top. It'll show the Russians that now it's NATO that's calling the shots," says one woman crossing the city park. "And if Russia's imperial streak should ever rise up again, then they know they can't just march in again." Emphasis added. Posted by: mrp 2006-11-29 |
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