Following a string of incidents involving tourists behaving badly at the Freedom Monument in Riga, a British visitor to the city has been imprisoned for five days for urinating on Latvia’s most potent symbol of the struggle for independence. I would like to think that the sentence will deter others, but having seen the behaviour of a significant minority of tourists in Riga it sadly seems unlikely.
The twist in this tale comes from the Latvian interior minister Mareks Seglins, whose response to the conviction was to say that he was fed up with the spectacle of Brits abroad: “Those English pigs… they are a dirty, hoggish people.” The Latvian President later distanced himself from the remarks on national radio, while the British Embassy maintains that only a small number of British visitors get into trouble. True enough – it really is a tiny percentage of the total number of visitors – but I do find it depressing that the majority of these incidents seem to involve Brits. Ask around in Riga and you will see that as a nation we are getting a decidedly bad name.
Apologies, by the way, to any regular readers for the severe disruption to normal service recently. I moved out of the UK and have been busy with all the things which that entails. I hope to get the site back on track now. I know I’m behind with this latest bit of news, but since I’ve been following these incidents I wanted to note them here anyway.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Eddie // Mar 12, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Why was such a ridiculously short sentence given for this offence?
It seems impossible.
Cultured Europeans have been talking about having to do something about the ‘British scum’ that have been invading them for the past 15 years (In Ireland’s case it is 800 years).
And yet, when many opportunities presents thenselves like this one, nothing is done.
Why?
Nobody would object to a 6 month sentence - except maybe the Brits.
‘When cultured people are too big-minded to take action, the illiterate thug gets bigger.’
2 Speedkuff // May 6, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Speaking as a Brit, I don’t see any problem with punishing people for acting in such a disgusting manner.
LVL50? I’d go much higher if I was the magistrate.
In the UK, the fine for that is £80.
Speaking as a cop, working in an area with a very high level of Baltic Guest Workers, I know that I’ve handed out the ticket for this to folks from all over the Baltic and also a great many Brits who can’t control their bladders.
Most people who do this start off in a pub, club or bar and they all have toilets, why don’t they go to the toilet before they set off to the next drinking spot?
I would be outraged if a Latvian or Estonian took a leak on a war memorial in the UK and I can see no reason for Brits to act in such a swinish manner whilst abroad.
3 lando tremblant // May 9, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Oh the English. Cant do much on their island so they go nuts on the continent. We have a similar problem in Canada with American tourists coming up and getting wasted. Since the drinking age in canada is between 18 to 19, you get a great deal of college students coming up and acting disgracefully. A few years back a person urinated on our world war two veterans monument on Canada day. so similar situation except you didnt report that the brits are doing this on your countries national holiday.
4 Dianne // Jul 24, 2008 at 3:56 am
The jailing of a hoodlum Brit for five days is unlikely to have an impact on unruly behaviour in Riga, locals fear. The jail term followed a string of incidents involving tourists behaving badly at the Freedom Monument in Riga.
The British lout was given five days for urinating on Latvia’s most revered symbol of its struggle for independence. Locals hope the sentence will deter others, but many fear it is unlikely.
Latvian interior minister Mareks Seglins says he is fed up with: “Those English pigs… they are a dirty, hoggish people.”
But the Latvian President distanced himself from the remarks on national radio and British Embassy officials insists the troublemakers are only a small minority.
But the few are giving the rest a band name and the majority of incidents involve Brits. Locals expect a backlash when this year’s stag party hooligans fly in.
5 Jules // Jan 12, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Only 5 days? Lock him up for 6 months, or work with the UK government to ban him from overseas travel. That’d deter all those idiots. Having a passport is a privilige, not a right! Thank got the beer prices and cost of living here in Sweden is nice and high, otherwise the british masses would be over to destroy Stockholm - thankfully we just get mainly sensible ex-pats living here, and pleasant tourists who know when to stop.
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