A memorial procession involving around 300 people took place in Rīga. Participants of the march carried flags and laid flowers at the Freedom Monument. One person described as a 'pro-Kremlin activist' was arrested near the Freedom Monument.
The march was monitored by drones and from a helicopter and there was a large police presence, as usual. Several hundred people took part in the march.
About 400 people also commemorated the Legionnaires in Lestene Brethren Cemetery.
To learn more about the historical events that led to the formation of the Latvian Legion, LTV has a short documentary film available, which can be viewed below. The year is 1943 and the Nazi occupation of the country which followed hot on the heels of the Societ occupation of 1940. It led to the formation of the Latvian Legion as combat units of the Waffen-SS.
"Should we honor or condemn them, keep silent or search for excuses?" the documentary asks.
To learn what happened to the Legionnaires after the end of WWII, we offer this article from our archives.
For those wishing to understand the various viewpoints concerning this annual happening, Latvian military and defense news portal sargs.lv has an article by Jānis Tomaševskis, head of the World War II History Department of the Latvian War Museum explaining some of the controversial aspects of the Latvian Legion's history.
The Latvian government's position on the March 16 events is available at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Latvian Television reported that a commemoration event also took place this year in the United Kingdom, as shown in the video below.
