On October 8, the State Chancellery announced an open competition for the position of head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration. It was previously announced that the current head of the administration, Juris Dambis, will no longer run for office.
The authors of the letter believe that "what is happening with the replacement of the head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration shows an ill-considered, hasty and incompetent course of action", therefore it is requested to immediately stop the current competition and to organize a new competition after consulting with others – including themselves – as to the precise requirements for the role.
"Cultural heritage is one of the cornerstones of the Latvian state's stability, and the role of NKMP in preserving Latvia's cultural and historical environment is so important that ill-considered and unsuccessful experiments in searching for the next leader in the nationally important post should not be allowed," the letter emphasized.
The authors of the letter state that the public is worried about whether the hasty replacement may be related to the implementation of certain construction plans.
"Responsible officials should be clearly aware that the appointment of an inappropriate, insufficiently professional manager may create a risk that the institution would be represented at the management level by a person who is unable to fully defend the goals and values of the sector, as well as to independently make decisions on crucial issues for the cultural heritage sector. Such a situation would create a risk for the safety of Latvia's fundamental values," the letter said.
