February 28, 2011 – New York – Latvia President Valdis Zatlers, in a letter to AJC, has repeated his strong condemnation of the mass desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Riga in December, and pledged anew to prosecute the vandals.

“This heinous crime has been condemned in the strongest terms by all of Latvia’s top officials,” President Zatlers wrote this month to AJC Executive Director David Harris. “The police immediately launched a criminal investigation of the incident, and three suspects at this time are being investigated. Two are under arrest… Legal proceedings are underway.”

The Latvian leader was responding to a letter from Harris, who had expressed shock over the desecration of more than 100 gravestones. “We take comfort from your strong and forceful words, condemning the desecration and urging the police to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Harris wrote.

AJC enjoys close ties with the Latvian government, and regularly meets with its top leaders in Riga as well as in New York.

“Our dialogue, which represents our mutual interests, understandings and cooperation, will remain as fruitful as it has always been,” wrote President Zatlers, referring to the cooperation between Latvia and AJC.

AJC was the first Jewish organization to call on the Bush administration, in 1991, to recognize the re-establishment of Latvia’s independence from Soviet rule, and, later, to call for Latvia’s membership in NATO. Since 1991, Latvia’s Jewish community has been revitalized and robust bilateral ties with Israel established. 

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