On Sunday, 10 November, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, while on a working visit to the United States of America, attended a church service at the Yonkers Church of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of New York, as well as met with the New York Latvian community and greeted it on Lāčplēsis Day.

“November is a particularly patriotic month for Latvia because that is when we celebrate the independence day of our state. However, this month we mark another important date, namely, 11 November, or Lāčplēsis Day. Back then, on 11 November 1919, the fate of the Republic of Latvia – which was established on 18 November 1918 as a free, democratic and independent state – was at stake in Riga. It took great heroism to protect our country. This is why every year on 11 November we pay homage to the Latvian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice - their lives - for the sake of Latvia, which had just been established in the Latvian War of Independence,” said the Speaker to her compatriots.

Āboltiņa stressed that today each and every one of us has a special task – to keep alive the memory of the people who lost their lives for a free Latvia. “I am proud that you too are fulfilling this task meritoriously,” said the Speaker, expressing her gratification.

During the meeting, the Speaker and the representatives of the community also discussed recent developments in Latvian politics and cooperation aimed at strengthening ties between Latvia and the Latvian diaspora.

From 8 to 14 November, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, is on a working visit to the United States, where she is taking part in the 8th Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament. Speaker Āboltiņa is also meeting with the representatives of the Latvian diaspora.


Saeima Press Service