Latvia honours WWII Nazi allies 

(16 Mar 2016) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY
AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Riga - 16 March 2016
1. People holding flags around Freedom Monument
2. Various of Latvians and representatives of other countries walking in memory of veterans who fought with the Nazis during World World II
3. Various of police surrounding walkers
4. People holding flags
5. SOUNDBITE (Latvian) Karlis Kreslins, Latvian member of parliament:
"This is the life and fate of the many, like in Latvia, when sons and fathers, or brothers, fought in different armies (involuntarily). But this does not mean anything, so do not try to link it to some sort of propaganda or politics. Our people who died are simply being remembered, that's all."
6. Priest laying flowers at Freedom Monument
7. Police officer guarding the event
8. People with flags walking away from Freedom Monument
9. SOUNDBITE (Latvian) Martins Burkalns, son of man who served in the Latvian Waffen SS legion:
"I did not get a chance to tell the stories of our fathers during the Soviet era, when it was not allowed to even talk about this (legionnaires who served alongside Waffen SS). But now when all the veterans have started to speak about the horrors that happened back then, and if they commemorate on this day, why would I not remember my parents? For me, it was just my father alone who served, but for some there might have been grandfathers or others. How would I not commemorate those lives too? If my father had a tough time, it means that they did as well. So all we can do is remember with sadness the awful times that our ancestors experienced (and commemorate them)."
10. Journalist Graham Phillips in a confrontation with Jaak Madison, Estonian politician. UPSOUND (English) Phillips: "How ashamed are you today?"
Madison: "How ashamed you are? How ashamed you are to be like pro-Russia?"
Phillips: "Why did you touch my camera?"
Phililips is escorted away by police
Phillips: "Why should I go away? Why?"
11. Various of Phillips being escorted away by police and put into police vehicle
12. Various of anti-fascist demonstration in a nearby park
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Nirds ( no last name given), anti-fascist demonstrator from Berlin:
"Yeah, there is, every year since, I don't know, quite a lot of years, this march, where they hail former members of (Nazi) SS divisions and they are perceived as heroes and I think it's unbelievable, it's a scandal. So that's why we are here."
14. Various of anti-fascist demonstration in a nearby park
STORYLINE:
Over 1,000 Latvians on Wednesday commemorated Nazi-affiliated World War II soldiers while police stepped up security to prevent violence from erupting between participants and ethnic Russians, who are a minority in the country.
Many Latvians consider 16 March, or Legionnaires Day, an opportunity to commemorate war veterans, while Russians see it as an attempt to glorify fascism and whitewash a black chapter in Latvia's history.
Latvia, which gained its independence following World War I, was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany a year later, and again by the Soviets in 1944.
The country restored its independence in 1991, after nearly five decades of Soviet occupation, in the wake of the Soviet collapse.
About 250,000 Latvians fought alongside either the Germans or the Soviets, with around 150,000 Latvians losing their lives in the fighting.
Many Latvians honour war veterans on Legionnaires Day, but ethnic Russians - who account for about one-third of Latvia's 2.3 million population - see it as glorifying fascism.
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