Great Britain speaks against the Latvian followers of Nazism

NovoNews editorial office has received an official appeal from the members of the Russian Association of Immigrants to the European Court of human rights. The letter is about the case of the partisan Vasily Makarovich Kononov, which has been troubling the entire world for several years now. Here is the text message with no cuts and any comments:

 “Dear judges.

On behalf of all the representatives of Russian-speaking diaspora of Great Britain we are appealing to you to make an equitable decision concerning our compatriot and the hero of the World War II, Vasily Makarovich Kononov.

The court trial of the veteran, who fought against the fascism in the World War II, is too unusual to be taken on faith the explanations of the Latvian authorities, especially taking into consideration that none of the victims are alive. Of course, we must take into account the fact that people involved in the confrontation did not act under the laws of peace. We believe that it is impossible to objectively judge a man of war for the "crime" according to the laws and regulations that were adopted 50 years later.

For the postwar generations in Russia the heroism of the partisan movement has always been and still remains the example of unselfish service to the Motherland, the preservation of peace, freedom and justice.

It is obvious that Kononov, just as thousands of other civilian citizens alike, who were desperately defending their family and dear ones, their house and their land from fascists as a part of partisan units, in those years of war could not foresee the possibility of their deeds being qualified as international crime.

Could Vasily Kononov and his fellows expect that for the defense of their homeland from the enemy, who miraculously survived, would be judged by the people for a half century later, whom they protected against the fascist slavery?

The continuation of the trial of partisan V.M.Kononov has a political purpose, which is to create a juridical precedent of indirect recognition of the Soviet government to be worse than Hitler’s regime.

We, the natives of the Soviet Union, are living all over the world at the moment, are alive, but we will never see our relatives and dear ones again, who died because of the fascists in the World War II.

In January 2005, the president of the Latvian Republic Vike-Freiberga presented her new book “History of Latvia in the 20^th century” to the audience of foreign ambassadors. According to the author, the Salaspils concentration camp was merely a “transit camp”, which included “political prisoners, members of Opposition, Jews, deserters, quitters, Gypsies, etc.” According to official information, 53 thousand people were massacred in the period from 1941 to 1944 in that camp for “quitters”. The fascists have organized a factory of children’s blood in Salaspils camp. They took 100-150 grams of blood even from infants, because of which some of them died immediately and the majority died after repeated withdrawal of blood. The international expert commission has established that from late 1942 to 1944 no less than 3500 liters of blood was withdrawn from 12 thousand children in the Salaspils camp for “quitters and deserters”.

Now imagine for a moment - it's your children. Scary isn’t it? And our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were afraid for their children.

While reconsidering the case of partisan Kononov once again, we are asking you to bear in mind the fact that over 165 thousand Latvian legionaries fought on Hitler’s side. And the Latvian SS-men did not earn fame through their heroic battles against the Red Army, but with their cruelest punitive measures against the civilian citizens of Byelorussia and Smolensk and Pskov regions of Russia. Only in February and March of 1944 the castigators of Latvian division of SS only in the Vitebsk region have destroyed 138 villages, executed and hanged 17 thousand people and drove 13 thousand people into slavery to Germany. The Latvian fascists added especially bloody pages into the sad history of Baltic Jews. Nine out of every ten citizens of the pre-war Jewish population of Latvia were massacred in the Riga ghetto and Salaspils concentration camp. 

Can the “V.M.Kononov’s case” be considered outside these facts?

According to many undisputed evidences, the Latvian SS-men have significantly excelled the Germany fascists in cruelty. For this reason the German officers chose them for execution of punitive measures. Especially because they served with great zeal.

The modern Latvian government has been demonstrating the same zeal already for several years.

The majority of Latvian students are sure that the legionaries were heroes and that they fought for liberation of Latvia. The lie, repeated over and over again, become the truth. We believe this was the doctrine of Doctor Goebbels, who has found good students in the modern Latvia. 

Now those “heroes of war” annually on March 16^th celebrate the day of “Latvian legion”. The Latvian Seim (parliament) adopted a declaration about Latvian legionaries, which obliges the Latvian government to honor the pride and dignity of the former warriors of the Latvian legion of SS.

And what the representatives of modern and civilized Europe, rescued from fascism, are doing? Are they trying to fight the revival of Nazism in the modern world? No! Instead, they are judging the veteran of Resistance.

Meanwhile, the Latvian legionaries are openly celebrating their memorable days, profaning the memory of people, burned alive, shot or hanged by them. The dead cannot answer them, they cannot resent, accuse them of their lies or appeal to the European Court. They can only remain in the memories of their descendants and be the silent witnesses in the European Court for Human Rights, without claiming their right of cherished memory of innocent victims.

It will not be long until the Latvian government adopts the law that speaking and even thinking in Russian would become a crime on the territory of their country since 1940. Be ready, dear judges to judge more than a third of the population of Latvia.

With your help the Latvian government is trying to remake the history of the World War II and the history of the victory in favor of the Latvian fascism, to consign to oblivion the feats of arms of Red Army soldiers and members of the Resistance

The revival and propaganda of fascism are the true international crimes.

Dear judges, look into the eyes of the Salaspils children, hear the moans of Jews, tormented in the Riga ghetto, remember the hanged and executed civilians of Byelorussia and the regions of Smolensk and Pskov.

And now try to feel what young Russian boy, Partisan Vasily Kononov, felt.

We urge you stop the longstanding trial of the hero of Resistance, Vasily Makarovich Kononov. We, the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people, who survived the horrors of the World War II, believe in the victory of reason and justice”.