| Witnesses of events of 21 August 1991 recall de facto restoration of Latvia’s independence |
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| (30.05.2011.) |
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Video interviews with witnesses of the de facto restoration of Latvia’s independence can be viewed on the webpage of the 21 August celebrations – www.21augusts.lv. The videos have been created in preparation for the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia. In order to mark the anniversary of the de facto restoration of independence of our country, the Saeima has begun compiling a comprehensive video archive of eye-witness accounts, experiences and memories of that time. The project immortalises accounts of events as witnessed by members of the Supreme Council and their contemporaries who supported the idea of an independent state. In the interview series History of the Rebirth of Latvia on www.21augusts.lv, it is already possible to watch several interviews in which witnesses of the time – Anatolijs Gorbunovs, Dainis Īvāns, Jānis Peters and Ivars Godmanis – recall the days of the August Putsch and the adoption of the Constitutional Law. Interviewers also include people who were members of the Supreme Council at that time and whose professional activity is associated with journalism – Edvīns Inkēns, Jānis Gavars, Viktors Avotiņš, Jānis Krūmiņš and Normunds Beļskis. On 21 August this year, Latvia will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the de facto restoration of its independence. 21 August 1991 was a crucial moment in the history of our country because on that day the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia adopted the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia, which restored the de facto independence of Latvia This Law renewed the effect of the Satversme (Constitution) adopted in 1922, along with its intrinsic values of a Western democratic state that is governed by law. Adoption of the Constitutional Law annulled the effect of all laws of the USSR in Latvia. This Law served as a reference point for other countries that recognised the restoration of Latvia’s independence.
Saeima Press Service |