National Power Unity
Encyclopedia
| Current Leader: | Viktors Birze |
| Founded: | June 26, 2003 |
| Headquarters: | A. Pumpura 10- 315 kab. Liepāja Liepaja Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port... , Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... |
| Political ideology: | Nationalism Nationalism Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what... |
National Power Unity, ; sometimes referred to as National Power Union or Union of National Force was a far-right nationalist political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. It was a member of the European National Front
European National Front
European National Front is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
.
It was founded in 2003 by Aigars Prūsis
Aigars Prusis
Aigars Prūsis was the leader of Latvia's National Power Union, a far-right nationalist political party, in 2003—2006.He runs latvians.lv - an Internet portal for far-right Latvian nationalist groups....
and Viktors Birze on the base of the human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
group Helsinki-86
Helsinki-86
The CTAG Helsinki-86 was founded in July, 1986 in the Latvian port town of Liepāja by three workers: Linards Grantiņš, Raimonds Bitenieks, and Mārtiņš Bariss...
.
In the 2005 municipal elections to the Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
city council, the NSS received 400 votes, or 1.86% of the total, and no seats. In the 2006 parliamentary election, the NSS received 1172 votes, or 0.13% of the total, and no seats.
NSS is known for a number of controversial activities. In 2005, it commemorated the 105-th birthday of Herberts Cukurs
Herberts Cukurs
Herberts Cukurs was a Latvian aviator. He was a member of the notorious Arajs Kommando and was involved in murders of Latvian Jews as part of the Holocaust but he never stood trial. There are eyewitness accounts linking Cukurs to war crimes...
, 1930s Latvian aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and alleged World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Nazi war criminal. NSS claims that they celebrated the aviation achievements of Cukurs and that there is no sufficient evidence to conclude that Cukurs was involved in war crimes.
NSS participated in the protests against the gay pride parade in Riga
Riga Pride and Friendship Days
Riga Pride and Friendship Days are an annual event held in Riga, Latvia in support of raising issues of tolerance and the rights of sexual minorities in society...
on July 22, 2006. Prior to the parade, the chairman of NSS, Viktors Birze threatened that the anti-gay pride protests will not be limited to non-violent methods. , Birze and at least one other NSS member are under investigation for attacks against the parade (throwing objects at the participants of the parade and police officers). After the events, NSS admitted their presence in the anti-pride protests but denied that their members were the ones throwing objects at the pride participants.
On May 9, 2007, NSS commemorated the anniversary of the end of World War II by marching towards the monument for the Soviet soldiers and attempting to place a wreath made of barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
at the monument, to emphasize the ordeals of Latvia after the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
winning the World War II. They were prevented from placing the barbed wire wreath by the police.
NSS did not submit an application for re-registration and was disbanded in 2008. Its members joined forces with the radical national party Tēvzemes savienība (Fatherland Union), to form Tēvzemes nacionālo spēku savienība (National Power Union of the Fatherland).
External links
- A July 17, 2006 LETA news item about the threat of violence - in Latvian. Retrieved 17 July 2006.
- "Latvian capital bans gay parade," at CNN. Retrieved 19 July 2006.