President of Latvia acknowledged Collective Memory Centre’s nation-wide list of streets and squares named after Soviet totalitarian regime leaders and their collaborators. According to Egils Levits, street and square name ‘or public space policies are part of the overall policy, which has a soft impact on people’.
Members of the Collective Memory Centre and President Levits agreed that bill must be adopted during the 13th Saeima. President of Latvia pointed towards the need to completely get rid of legacy left by occupying power in his autumn session opening address at the parliament in September, saying that we have our own leaders, events, commemorative days after which we should name our streets and squares that contribute to the environment around us and our understanding of the past, we do not need names that belong to another hostile regime’.
In addition to formalising new street and square names, we should also encourage a debate on why the change is needed and why these street and square names have been chosen, President added. Members of the Collective Memory Centre expressed their readiness to launch the debate, which will be done in the next phase of Centre’s activities.
