Latvian Legion Day

Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires (Latvian: Leģionāru piemiņas diena) or the Latvian Legion Day is a day on 16 March, when soldiers of the Latvian Legion, part of the Waffen-SS, are commemorated. It was made an official remembrance day in Latvia in 1998 but the Latvian government abolished the day as an official commemoration in 2000.

The day has been controversial as the Legion was a Nazi unit and the Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires as a Nazi honouring event. Others hold that the Legion was a purely military unit fighting against the Soviet Union that had occupied Latvia in 1940 and was not itself responsible for any of Nazi war crimes.

The Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires was established in exile by the Daugavas Vanagi veterans' organisation. The date of 16 March was chosen because in 1944 both divisions of the Latvian Legion, the 15th (1st Latvian) and the 19th (2nd Latvian) fought alongside for the first time against the Red Army. It was the only battle in World War II led solely by Latvian commanders.

From 16 to 18 March 1944 a heavy battle was fought on the eastern shore of the Velikaya River for Hill "93,4", a strategically important height, defended by the 15th and the 19th Waffen-SS divisions. On the morning of 16 March the Soviet assault began, and the defenders were forced to withdraw, but the Soviets did not break the Latvian Legionnaires' resistance. On 18 March a counter-attack by the 15th Division, led by Colonel Arturs Silgailis, recaptured the hill with minimal losses. The Soviets did not try to attack there again.

Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires has been observed in Latvia since 1990. In 1993, MP Juris Dobelis of LNNK invited his colleagues to commemorate the anniversary of the Legion, supported by the Chairman of the Parliament, Anatolijs Gorbunovs. It was set as an official remembrance day in 1998. In 1998 the procession to lay flowers at the base of the Freedom Monument drew the attention of foreign media and in the following year the Russian government condemned the event as a glorification of Nazism. In 2000 the Latvian government abolished the day as an official commemoration day due to the EU objections, however the day is still observed unofficially and has since evolved into a political fight between opposing to this date and Latvian nationalists. In 2005, a counter-demonstration was dispersed by police, arresting some of its participants; the march itself was condemned by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. In 2006 the Latvian government tried to bring the situation under control by fencing off the Freedom Monument, supposedly, as it was announced by Riga City Council, for restoration. However this statement was later questioned, as politicians named various other reasons for the move, the enclosed area was much larger than needed for restoration, and the weather didn't seem appropriate for restoration. The Freedom Monument is one of the most important symbols of Latvia, therefore the move caused discontent in general society. The government was criticized for being unable to ensure public safety and freedom of speech. Latvian mass media compared the actions of government officials with the actions of Soviet officials in the late 80s and reported that no other government before had fenced off a monument for political reasons. It was also speculated that the actual reason for the government's actions was preparation for the upcoming NATO Summit 2006 in Riga. The unapproved events took place despite the ban and 65 participants were arrested by the Latvian police, two of the arrested nationalists were citizens of Estonia. In 2006, laws requiring approval to arrange gatherings were ruled out as unconstitutional. On March 16, 2007, the government mobilized the police force to guard the vicinity of the monument and the day went by relatively peacefully. The veterans' organizations Daugavas Vanagi and Latvijas Nacionālo karavīru biedrība (National Association of Latvian soldiers) have announced that they dissociate themselves from ultra-radicals who organize processions at the monument and advised patriotic Latvians to attend other events. In 2008 the confrontation was limited to verbal arguments and insults.

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