It was only a matter of time.
Okay, so as usual, I'm exaggerating (hopefully) for effect, but for those Latvian citizens who like to criticize and share their thoughts on the economic crisis, you might actually be detained by the secret police.
According to Christian Science Monitor, last November, Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a young economics professor, published an essay in a leading Latvian newspaper warning that the country was heading for a financial collapse to rival Iceland's. For this, he was arrested and detained for two days. He was charged with spreading unrest and destabilizing Latvia's financial and banking system.
When Latvian pop star Valters Fridenbergs joked at a concert one night about bank runs, the secret police paid him a visit too.
So, for Latvians, I guess the lesson is, you can't get out of the economic crisis through open analysis, constructive criticism, or bad jokes. So much for freedom of speech and the open exchange of ideas.
1 comment:
Can't believe such thing happens in EU! As if a Central Asian-Caucasian sultanate :))
Sultanate, but still can speak about economic crisis :)
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