Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today denounced the commemoration of the liberation of the Latvian city of Limbazi, sponsored by the Visu Latvija political party, to be held tomorrow on the 72^nd anniversary of the retreat of the Soviet-occupying power.

In a statement issued here today by its Israel director, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that the celebration of such an event, which paved the way for the mass murder of the Jews of Limbazi, is an insult to the victims of the Holocaust and all those who suffered under the Nazi regime.

According to Zuroff:

"While it is true that the Nazis only entered Limbazi several days later, it is clear that the Visu Latvija party wants to celebrate the Nazi occupation of their country, which resulted in the annihilation of Latvian Jewry (95.6% of the country's Jews were murdered), the mass murder of thousands of foreign Jews deported to Latvia and tens of thousands murdered in Belarus by Latvian Security Police units. If that is a cause for celebration by the Visu Latvija, it is obvious that they should not be part of a ruling coalition in a member state of the European Union."

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).