Latvia bans books from Russia, Belarus over ‘war propaganda’

RIGA - Latvia has banned the import of books, newspapers and printing products from Russia and Belarus, citing “disinformation and war propaganda”, its foreign ministry told AFP on Sept 7.“The import ban is intended to protect Latvia’s security interests and further reduce economic ties with Russia and Belarus, which continue to wage and support (the) war of aggression against Ukraine,” the ministry said.Latvia, a member of NATO and the European Union, is an ally of Ukraine and both share borders with Russia and Belarus.It has faced what it describes at “hybrid attacks” from Moscow since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Amid cyberattacks, drone incursions and manufactured disinformation, the former Soviet-occupied republic has heavily invested in its security in recent years, believing it might be one of Moscow’s next targets.Latvia has a significant minority of Russian speakers and about a quarter of the population are ethnic Russians, according to the most recent data from its official statistics portal.The ban, which came into effect on Sept 1, is the first of its kind to be imposed on Russian consumer goods in Europe.It also affects other consumer goods, including clothes, toys and sports equipment.According to the Latvian government, the move is aimed at “strengthening the resilience of society and reducing vulnerabilities in the information space”.Overall imports from Russia and Belarus have decreased by around 91 per cent since the start of the war in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said.But books and printed materials still “constituted one of the largest remaining consumer goods import categories from Russia”, it added.The Latvian transport ministry has also submitted proposals to amend the country’s transport law, which would ban regular and irregular passenger buses from Latvia to Russia and Belarus, as well as transit through Latvian territory to the two countries.“The Ministry of Transport will continue to assess aspects of security, economic, and international obligations, seeking a coordinated solution at the Baltic and European Union levels,” it wrote in a statement.Riga had previously removed VAT incentives for domestic Russian-language publishing and pushed to reduce Russian language in education, citing the need to counter Moscow’s interference and to better integrate Russian speakers.In May, Russia announced plans to local media to take the Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – to the International Court of Justice over alleged rights violations against Russian speakers.The Baltic states have disputed such claims, instead accusing Moscow of using the Russian ethnic minority – which ballooned during the Soviet occupation of the three countries from the 1940s until the mid-1990s – to inflame tensions. AFP