President of Latvia urges the Saeima to take care of individual justice with respect to rehabilitation of victims of political persecutions, procedures for determining the status of the victim of political persecutions and status of the member of national resistance
On 25 March, President of Latvia Egils Levits sent a formal letter to the Saeima Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee. In his letter, President Levits presents his views on how to restore historical justice with regard to Latvian residents persecuted by the occupation power.
In a democratic country governed by the rule of law, legislator and agencies responsible for enforcing laws are expected to ensure justice in general while also taking care of individual justice in specific cases, says the President in his letter. Egils Levits underlines that according to Satversme (Constitution of Latvia), state has the obligation to restore historical justice and help its citizen overcome the consequences of wrongdoings committed by occupying power, and thus restore the dignity of victims and give adequate legal assessment of persecutions they have endured.
President Levits thanks Saeima Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee for its efforts in addressing the problems. Not all victims of persecution are guaranteed individual justice under current laws. Therefore, Committee is focusing on issues related to rehabilitation of victims of political persecution, as well as procedures for determining the status of a victim of political repression and status of a member of national resistance.
‘Given the national and public significance, and the importance in restoring historical justice, parliament should address these problems directly, i.e., assess each specific case from political standpoint and resolve it according to constitutional provisions and purpose, spirit of applicable laws,’ underlines the President.
According to the President of Latvia, an adequate way to solve it would be for the legislator to make a political determination of what individual justice would entail in each case. Parliament should take the initiative in deciding how victims of political persecution should be rehabilitated and how status of a victim of political repression and a member of the national resistance should be awarded. President Levits believes that Latvian constitutional system provides parliament several instruments for expressing its will. Legislator should use these tools in accordance with criteria such as efficiency, efficacy and legal predictability.
President of Latvia underlined his strong concerns about cases when state awards like Order of Viesturs, state honours for special role in activities and support to national resistance movement, are awarded to a person who is not legally eligible for the status of member of the national resistance. ‘Legislator should eliminate this inconsistency as soon as possible. It must restore historical justice and avoid confusing people and reinforcing sense of injustice,’ says the letter of the President.