Latvian Political Monitor

From@tv24_lv

🇱🇻 On September 6 at 9:03 PM on TV24 “PRE-ELECTION DEBATES. FIGHT FOR LATVIA” a sharp and substantive conversation about Latvia's future. Participants: 🔹@EdvardsSmiltens, @Apvienotais_ – Latvijas Zaļā partija, Latvijas Reģionu Apvienība, Liepājas partija; 🔹Rudolfs Bremanis, @SUVERĒNĀ VARA / Apvienība Jaunlatvieši; 🔹@Chumins, @LatvijaPirmaja; 🔹Agnese Lāce, @Progresivie; 🔹Ināra Mūrniece, @VL_TBLNNK “Visu Latvijai!”–“Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK”; 🔹@EvikaSilina, @Jauna_Vienotiba; 🔹@DaigaMierina, @ZZS_. Topics: Latgale and border region, security, health, education, economy, energy and climate, rule of law. 🔹Hosted by @ArmandsPuce and Elizabete Reičela Puče. 📺 Watch TV24 on September 6 at 9:03 PM

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From@AndrisKulbergs

INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEPAL TRAGEDY. Current as of 1.09. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee has departed to Nepal to carry out coordination work on site to help the families and relatives of the 33 missing 🇱🇻 citizens (earlier information of 43 has been clarified). Yesterday @Braze_Baiba spoke with the Nepalese minister, full support for 🇱🇻, everything needed. From China there is silence for now after the note was sent and the announced call, but today more information may be available. 30 closest blood relatives have provided DNA samples to the State Police, which are being digitally provided to Nepalese rescue services. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a coordination meeting on 31.08 for state and municipal institutions, defining the range of issues where state and municipal support, involvement, and assistance will be needed if those missing in Nepal are not found, for their relatives: childcare, social assistance, education, health care, and other areas. Representatives of responsible state and municipal institutions will soon prepare useful practical information, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will then pass to the relatives of the missing, inviting them to contact the relevant institutions. The MFA met by VTC with Israeli experts on victim identification and issues. The MFA met with NGO representatives ready to provide support.

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From@AndrisKulbergs

This storm was a painful dress rehearsal for Latvia's and every person's readiness to overcome crisis situations. Thank you to firefighters, medics, police officers, electricity network crews, municipal workers, volunteers and everyone who is still working to help people and restore critical services. The storm showed an unpleasant truth: if electricity disappears over a wide area, many other critical everyday services also start to stop. Many of us were affected not only by the lack of electricity. Mobile communications and internet were disrupted, fuel stations, shops, ATMs, payment terminals and traffic lights did not work. Traffic and train movement were disrupted. In places, water supply and sewerage operations were endangered. Even operational services in some places had difficulty refueling their vehicles. The storm also revealed a problem with cash circulation. Without electricity and internet, card payments may not be possible, and ATMs do not work. Under these circumstances, cash becomes a critically important reserve means of payment. There must be a clear action plan by the state, banks and merchants on how to ensure the availability and circulation of cash during a crisis. People reported that in some shops, bread and drinking water ran out within three to four hours. We need to assess whether shops and logistics networks are ready for a rapid increase in demand and can ensure the supply of essential goods also when electricity, communications and electronic payments do not work. Equally important is the operation of pharmacies and the availability of medicines. What happens if a pharmacy has no electricity, internet or access to e-prescriptions? Where can a person get life-saving medicines? How is the public informed about working pharmacies? There must also be a clear crisis algorithm here, not improvisation after the event. Unfortunately, today I did not find a unified, comprehensible and regularly updated overview of the situation. People had to search for information themselves on the websites and social media accounts of various institutions, companies and municipalities. But during a crisis, a person must be able to get answers to very specific questions in one place: ❓ Where is there no electricity? ❓ Where are mobile communications and internet not working? ❓ Which roads are closed and where is public transport disrupted? ❓ Where is water supply and sewerage endangered? ❓ Which shops, fuel stations and pharmacies are operating? ❓ What exactly is being done? ❓ In what order are damages expected to be repaired and services restored? Such information must be unified, verified and regularly updated. At the same time, there should be a backup information solution for situations when people have no electricity, internet or mobile communications. Once the acute crisis phase has been overcome, I expect a comprehensive assessment from the Crisis Management Center on how the state overcame this crisis, what worked, what did not and what urgently needs to be improved. The assessment must conclude with a concrete action plan, specifying those responsible, deadlines and necessary investments. But responsibility is not only on the state. Also every Latvian household must critically assess whether we seriously took the previously distributed warnings and whether we can cope for at least 72 hours without electricity, internet, shop, ATM and immediate operational services help. Do we have drinking water, food, necessary medicines, a flashlight, batteries, a charged external battery, a radio and cash at home? Does the family have a comprehensible action plan? Do we know how we will help children, seniors, neighbours and people with special needs? This time it was a storm about which we received advance warnings. The next crisis may start without such warning. I am currently in Ukraine, where they have to deal with an identical situation every day. Yesterday I saw with my own eyes how crisis coordination systems are integrated into a military command center, where you can see every service online - VUGD, police, medicine, gas, municipal services, rescuers... all. I will bring this system to Latvia.

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