Letter from the Latvian National Front and the newspaper “DDD”

to the Ambassador of the United States to Latvia, Ms. Judith G. Garber

On January 24 the United States’ Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Mr. Douglas Davidson, arrived in Latvia with the apparently brutal intention of stoking hatred and antipathy against the long-suffering Jewish people and to support the materialistic claims of local Zionists for the property of deceased Jews which does not belong to them, approximately 30 million lats (almost 55 million USD) in value. The Latvian National Front considers this visit as crude interference in the internal affairs of Latvia and an open promotion of racism.

As we know, the promotion of a specific national group as being superior (or to be treated differently) is defined in international law as a dangerous form of racism. Mr. Douglas Davidson, representing the United States, arrived in Latvia in order to popularize the idea and to impose it on the Latvian government that the Jewish organization “The Hebrew Community of Latvia” (“Ebreju kopiena Latvijā”), based on this group’s ethnic membership, is entitled to compensation in the amount of 30 million lats from the Latvian Republic for the government’s legal tenure of existing property which was transmitted from Jews who had no heirs or their own property.

To help a specific group, based on a self-proclaimed privileged ethnic membership, and to cheat the Latvian state of money or property, Douglas Davidson took the liberty of specifying to the Latvian government that it is necessary to change its laws. This form of racist propaganda, which as far as it can be determined, the United States supports, already constructs a violation of international law, creating the basis for international responsibility, thus we kindly recommend (the US) to restrain its audacious envoy.

We have considerable experience with various negatively prominent Zionists and their supporters who have endeavored to stick their nose in Latvia’s internal affairs and with their anti-Latvian and anti-Semitic actions have in effect asked the Latvians to send them away from Latvia once and for all. One of these negatively prominent anti-Semitic and racist provocateurs has been the Zionist Efraim Zuroff.

In 2004 the head of the Latvian National Front, Aivars Garda, in an open letter (see “DDD” Nr. 21(69). October 14-28, 2004) which was sent to many national and international mass media and groups suggested to Efraim Zuroff:

“If some time you again desire to stick your nose in Latvia’s internal affairs, then I suggest that you do it more intelligently. The actions of the Wiesenthal provoke the resentment of other peoples in the world against Jews. Maintaining in force the motto of the LNF “Long Live the friendship of the Latvian and Jewish peoples” which would allow to expose such harmful figures as Zuroffs. I strongly suggest that you end your uncivil anti-Semitic actions in the leaders’ chair of the Wiesenthal Center.”

The letter’s closing part contained the reminder of Mr. Zuroff’s hysterical flight from the press conference in Riga after the question posed to him by the vice-chairperson of the LNF: “How do you, Mr. Zuroff, respond to the fact, that it was precisely Stalin, whose assistant and “right hand” was L. Kaganovich, a Jew, who initiated the most merciless holocaust against the Latvian people?” To this question the Zionist activist has not been able, to this day, to give an answer.

We have to stress that Efraim Zuroff is merely the head of an anti-Semitic organization, while Douglas Davidson on this visit represents the United States. The desire to squeeze out of the Latvian state property or money in the range of 30 million lats in the middle of an economic crisis means to rob our children and our pensioners.

We ask you Ambassador Garber to inform President Barrack Obama that a holocaust was directed against the Latvians themselves, which was waged by a disproportionately large number of Jewish Zionists who in the 1930s and 1940s worked in the secret security services of the USSR and participated in the physical annihilation of the Latvian people, the liquidation of the independent Latvian state, and its occupation and incorporation into the Soviet Union. Latvians could come up with a bill to Israel for 30 billion lats to pay for the atrocities of their compatriots, which were carried out against the Latvian people and the Latvian state during the Second World War.

We recommend to you ambassador Garber, to respectfully exit from this very awkward situation and to express to the State Department that Mr. Davidson be sent on visits to Russia and Germany – countries that are responsible for causing the Second World War and the occupation of Latvia. Let the United States’ Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Mr. Douglas Davidson solicit money and property from the Russians and the Germans rather than Latvians.

Liga Muzikante,

Vice-chairperson of the Non-governmental organization Latvian National Front and journalist for the “DDD”