| Website devoted to 21 August is launched |
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| (05.05.2011.) |
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The website www.21augusts.lv, devoted to the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia, is launched. The website contains the address by the Speaker Solvita Āboltiņa commemorating this anniversary, as well as the text of the Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia adopted on 21 August 1991. This Internet site also contains excerpts from interviews with eyewitnesses of events taking place at the time of the August Putsch and adoption of the Constitutional Law; these interviews are part of the series of interviews titled The History of the Rebirth of Latvia. The first interview available on the website is an interview with Anatolijs Gorbunovs, former Chairman of the Supreme Council. Visitors will also have an opportunity to view a photo gallery showing historic pictures of the events taking place in August 1991. The sections of the website will be regularly updated, and as 21 August approaches, information about the time and venue of ceremonial events taking place in Riga and elsewhere in Latvia will be uploaded. 21 August 1991 is the day that brought about the de facto independence of Latvia and marked the beginning of the road for restoration of the state. On this day, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia adopted the Constitutional Law on the Statehood of the Republic of Latvia with 111 votes for and 13 votes against. The people’s representatives elected to the Supreme Council opted to restore the independence of the Republic of Latvia instead of founding a new state or choosing some other option for shaping the statehood of the Republic of Latvia. This Law renewed the legal force 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 The address of the new website is www.21augusts.lv; it can also be accessed from the website of the Saeima www.saeima.lv.  Saeima Press Service |