The Belarusian Prosecutor General filed criminal proceedings against the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and the mayor of Riga. According to the official, displaying the white, red and white flag instead of the state flag of Belarus “offended the national dignity of Belarus.”
It is related to the situation that occurred on May 24 in the Latvian capital. The Mayor of Riga, Martins Stakes, in the presence of the chief of Latvian diplomacy, Edgar Rinkivicius, replaced the national flag of Belarus on display in connection with the World Hockey Championship with a white, red and white flag indicating historical symbols and representing the Belarusian protests.
According to the Belarusian Prosecutor’s Office in Riga, the state symbol was “desecrated” and an investigation was launched – after numerous reports of a “serious crime against the interests of Belarus” – of an article on incitement to national hatred. In a statement issued by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the flag of independent Belarus was called “white-red-white matter.”
Belarusian flag in RigaReuters
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry called the events in Riga “state sabotage” and on the same day expelled all employees of the Latvian embassy, except for one administrative employee who remained to manage the building. Łotwa responded with the same procedure diplomat.
Main image source: Reuters
