Latvian President wants action to guarantee tourists’ safety

HS report on dangers of Riga nightlife sparks reactions in Latvia

print this

Latvia’s President Valdis Zatlers is calling on local officials to investigate crimes targeting foreign tourists, and to secure the safety of visitors to the capital Riga.
      According to the news agency BNS, Zatlers has sent a letter to his country’s interior, finance, and foreign ministries, and to the mayor of Riga, in which he expresses concern over the ability of officials to guarantee the security of tourists, and to solve crimes that they fall victim to.
      According to reports in the Latvian media, the country’s prosecution service has called into question more than 50 cases in which the police have decided not to proceed on a criminal complaint.
      Zatlers sees this as an indication of a lack of professional skill, and a reluctance to solve the problem, according to a press release quoted by BNS.
     
In his letter, President Zatlers expresses concern for Latvia’s reputation. He emphasises that it is possible to solve crimes targeting tourists, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
      A report published in Helsingin Sanomat just over a week ago, about crimes systematically targeting foreign tourists in Riga nightclubs, has stimulated a considerable reaction in Latvia.
      In the report, an official of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) says that the threat of crime against Finnish tourists is highest in Riga.
      The suspected crimes concentrate on certain clubs in the city’s Old Town.
      The most common scams involve overbilling credit cards, and in the worst cases, threats of violence, actual violence, and drugging unsuspecting customers.
     
The CEO of one of Latvia’s most successful companies, Janis Vangas of the airline Air Baltic, expressed concern in the country’s leading daily newspaper Diena for Latvia’s reputation at the beginning of the tourist season.
      He also mentioned the complaints made by tourists about the actions of local police.
      Latvian television news covered the topic on two evenings in the past week, urging local police to take action on the matter.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Tourists warned of dangers lurking in Latvian capital (27.4.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat