Today at 19:00 on Dome Square in Riga, a protest "Protect Mother Latvia" will take place against Latvia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, or the so-called Istanbul Convention, the "Marta" center reported.
Organizers are calling on participants to come to the rally dressed in red, bringing posters, flashlights, reflective materials, candles, and other light sources.
Protests against Latvia's withdrawal from the convention will also take place this evening in Liepaja, Daugavpils, Cesis, and outside the Latvian embassies in Helsinki, Tallinn, The Hague, Vienna, Berlin, and Oslo.
The State Police reported that the police, along with other services, are preparing to ensure public safety and order at all protest locations, especially in the capital.
It is expected that the protest in Riga will gather a large number of people. In this regard, barriers will be set up on Dome Square to create passageways, where police officers will be present to ensure prompt response and effective order control.
Due to the protest, there may be movement restrictions in Old Riga.
At 14:00 on Dome Square, the protest organizers will meet with representatives of the media. Questions will be answered by Beata Jonite, a representative of the "Marta" center, Sindija Mierture, a representative of the youth organization "Protests", filmmaker Alise Zarina, and Vasiliy Elin Tolkachev, a representative of the organization "Transformācija".
As reported, thanks to the votes of the opposition and the coalition of the Union of Greens and Farmers, the Saeima passed a law on Latvia's withdrawal from the convention. This decision has caused dissatisfaction among a large part of society. A mass protest took place outside the Saeima building, and 67,000 people signed a petition on the ManaBalss.lv portal calling on President Edgars Rinkēvičs to return the law for reconsideration in parliament.
This week, the Saeima sent the law returned by the president for reconsideration to the Foreign Affairs Committee, establishing that the deadline for submitting proposals on it will be one year. This effectively means that the law on Latvia's withdrawal from the convention will be reconsidered by the next Saeima.
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