Pride and hatred: History is politics in Latvia
5:33 PM
Prior post: Pride and hatred: Hutcherson's odd connection with Latvia's homophobes
These are the domestic and regional political issues in Latvia into which US citizen Ken Hutcherson placed himself while making his still discredited claims that he had the power to speak for the White House:
News item from Baltic Times, March 21:
Since Hutcherson doesn't mention them, it's not clear which of the country's cabinet ministers he met with, but he appears to be referring to Kastens with the abbreviated title "Minister of Integration."
It is a reflection of Latvia's complex history and equally complex current politics that the country has and needs a "Special Assignments Minister for Societal Integration."
It -- like its neighbors to the north and south, Estonia and Lithuania -- is a country that has struggled to define and redefine itself since breaking away from the Soviet Union in 1991. It is also a country where history regularly becomes an integral part of contemporary politics.
An example of that was on display on the streets of the capitol city of Riga last Friday when about 300 people marched in under heavy police guard. They were commemorating an anniversary of the Latvian Legion. Those who marched see members of the Legion as national heroes who fought the invading Stalinist Red Army to protect their country. Those offended by the march say that the Legion was a Nazi Waffen SS group that supported an invading foreign army of Nazi Germany.
Each side in that dispute can cite valid and frightening statistics of the tens of thousands who were killed in Latvia by each of the occupying armies who controlled the Baltic states after Hitler and Stalin agreed, briefly, to divvy up East Europe in 1939. An article that briefly summarizes the history puts it this way:
During Gorbachav's Glasnost period, Lithuanians began to agitate for independence with a series of demonstrations called "calendar days."
Hutcherson put himself in the midst of a political battle in the Baltic republic, and he did so while touting those now-discredited credentials as an envoy from the White House. That by itself should give the White House pause because this is not merely a matter of a few activists wanting to march in a street. Hutcherson is also agitating against tolerance policies of the European Union, which admitted Latvia as a full member in 2004.
He has allied himself in Latvia with Alexei Ledyaev, a Russian-speaking preacher from Khazakhstan who has, according to this Latvian blogger [via Slog], called for the abandonment, not only of EU tolerance policies, but also of the constitution adopted after the November 18 proclamation of independence.
Postman offers this summary of the tract:
These are the domestic and regional political issues in Latvia into which US citizen Ken Hutcherson placed himself while making his still discredited claims that he had the power to speak for the White House:
News item from Baltic Times, March 21:
Special Assignments Minister for Societal Integration Oskars Kastens said that Riga Pride, a gay and lesbian parade scheduled for May 30 - June 3, will only increase misconceptions about homosexuals among the country?s population.News item from Latvian Centre for Human Rights, March 15:
The minister made the statement after receiving opinions from public organizations about a proposal to include the issue of sexual minorities in Latvia?s national intolerance prevention program, the his office said.
"A demonstration cannot solve the problem of intolerance that the sexual minorities are complaining about. Solutions must be sought in discussions, by hearing various opinions," Kastens said.
Head of Latvia?s Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Janis Pujats has sent an open letter to the Special Assignments Minister for Societal Integration Oskars Kastens stating that Catholic Church believes that there are no problems concerning intolerance in Latvia. Therefore, Janis Pujats argues that there is no need to elaborate national program on combating discrimination and intolerance.News item from Ken Hutcherson's Prayer Warrior email list (via Slog), March 15:
I met with all the Religious Leaders in Latvia except two. I also met with the Ministers of Integration, Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of Human Rights and Parliament.One of the religious leaders that Hutcherson met with in Latvia on March 10 was Cardinal Pujats, who believes gay folk -- the folks who were pelted with eggs or worse as they tried to march in 2005 or meet together in a hotel in 2006 -- there don't encounter any problems.
The successful result of the meeting was to foster complete agreement to work together in the future to strengthen family values. All agreed to keep traditional values of marriage between a man and a woman and ensure that marriage remains an institution between a man and woman as well as ensure religious freedom within the country.
Since Hutcherson doesn't mention them, it's not clear which of the country's cabinet ministers he met with, but he appears to be referring to Kastens with the abbreviated title "Minister of Integration."
It is a reflection of Latvia's complex history and equally complex current politics that the country has and needs a "Special Assignments Minister for Societal Integration."
It -- like its neighbors to the north and south, Estonia and Lithuania -- is a country that has struggled to define and redefine itself since breaking away from the Soviet Union in 1991. It is also a country where history regularly becomes an integral part of contemporary politics.
An example of that was on display on the streets of the capitol city of Riga last Friday when about 300 people marched in under heavy police guard. They were commemorating an anniversary of the Latvian Legion. Those who marched see members of the Legion as national heroes who fought the invading Stalinist Red Army to protect their country. Those offended by the march say that the Legion was a Nazi Waffen SS group that supported an invading foreign army of Nazi Germany.
Each side in that dispute can cite valid and frightening statistics of the tens of thousands who were killed in Latvia by each of the occupying armies who controlled the Baltic states after Hitler and Stalin agreed, briefly, to divvy up East Europe in 1939. An article that briefly summarizes the history puts it this way:
The ensuing to-ing and fro-ing of armies across the Baltics is a footnote to most people?s recollection of World War II, but the defining national catastrophe for Latvia.Dates are important in Latvian politics. The country has two holidays to celebrate its independence. Independence Day is celebrated on November 18, marking the day in 1918 when the country declared itself an independent republic, ending centuries of control by Czarist Russia. Independence Proclamation Day is celebrated on May 4 to mark the day in 1990 when the country again declared itself independent, this time of Soviet Russia which had controlled it as one of the republics of the USSR since World War II.
During Gorbachav's Glasnost period, Lithuanians began to agitate for independence with a series of demonstrations called "calendar days."
The purpose of these "calendar" demonstrations was to publicly commemorate the events of June 13-14, 1941 (the mass deportations of Latvians to the Soviet Union); August 23, 1939 (the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact); and November 18, 1918 (the proclamation of Latvian independence).History becomes contemporary politics.
Hutcherson put himself in the midst of a political battle in the Baltic republic, and he did so while touting those now-discredited credentials as an envoy from the White House. That by itself should give the White House pause because this is not merely a matter of a few activists wanting to march in a street. Hutcherson is also agitating against tolerance policies of the European Union, which admitted Latvia as a full member in 2004.
He has allied himself in Latvia with Alexei Ledyaev, a Russian-speaking preacher from Khazakhstan who has, according to this Latvian blogger [via Slog], called for the abandonment, not only of EU tolerance policies, but also of the constitution adopted after the November 18 proclamation of independence.
Ledyaev has suggested replacing Latvia's constitution, the Satversme, with the Ten Commandments, introducing Christian totalitarianism, and "humbling all liberals and homosexuals.But what makes Hutcherson's declared "official" meddling in Latvian politics even more appalling is that he was accompanied to Latvia by lawyer/preacher Scott Lively who also dabbles in historical revisionism. Lively rewrites history and has become a fellow agitator with Hutcherson in a country where history still excites raw political nerves. Lively, an associate of Oregon's Lon Mabon and the Oregon Citizens Council (OCA), peddles a book called The Pink Triangle.
Postman offers this summary of the tract:
[Lively] says homosexual "are the true inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities."It's silly, but it's is dangerous stuff to introduce into a place where history is politics in so many ways.
His co-author wrote that the "authors contend that homosexualism, elevated to a popular ideology and combined with black occult forces, not only gave birth to Nazi imperialism but also led to the Holocaust itself."
And they say America could easily now follow the same path.
Labels: ken hutcherson, latvia
1 Comments:
Nice piece -- you avoid a lot of the common misconceptions out there and strive for balance. The Hutcherson and Lively visit was barely mentioned at all in Latvia, though, except in a throwaway rag and a Christian online magazine.
Regarding March 16th, I want to point out that less than two thousand people marked the date this year. I have some ruminations on keeping extremism in perspective here.
LPP, Latvia's First Party, the party that's close to Ledyaev, shared a list (we vote by party list here) with the formerly liberal Latvia's Way -- despite pouring money into a slick campaign and LPP exploiting "family values" whenever it could, the combined list received only 8,58% of the vote in October's parliamentary elections. "Family values" don't translate into too many votes, apparently -- which is part of why the party is now focusing upon the Russophone vote.
LPP, which holds ten seats in the 100-seat Saeima, is part of the ruling coalition. Its view is actually ahistorical or even anti-historical, though -- of the four parties in Government, three are closely tied to "oligarchs"... in the case of LPP, to Ain?rs ?lesers, the party's millionaire leader and the current Minister of Transport.
LPP and the coalition are much more interested in lucre than they are in "family values."
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