The proposal by President Edgars Rinkēvičs to extend the Eastern border strip by 30 meters means adapting at least 1,344 hectares for this purpose – buying back private property, cutting down forests, ploughing the soil. To make the border area safer, it will also be necessary to buy other properties from their owners. Due to a lack of information in the border area, this has already alarmed residents, who are hoping for fair compensation, but there is no information about it.
“Last week we spoke with the Minister of Defence about completely different issues, and then the news appears about what the president said, and if the president says it, then most likely it has already been decided. There is no dialogue, and people are already agitated,” says Gunārs Upenieks, chair of the Krāslava municipality bordering Belarus.
The extension of the border strip will directly affect him as well, because in that territory there is a house he owns adapted for rural tourism – a guesthouse with adjoining lowland. “Right now I don’t understand whether I will have to close it down, or whether they will buy back the entire property,” says the municipality chair, adding that his property is not the only one in the municipality that will be affected by the extension of the border strip. “The compensation issue is very important, people are asking this question.”
This issue also worries the residents of Balvi municipality, which is next to Russia, confirms its municipal leader Jānis Trupovnieks, whose municipality has a clearly predominant share of land in the border area used for agriculture.
“People do not know how large the required areas will be and what the compensation will be. Speaking with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, he promises that the compensation will be fair, that properties will be fairly assessed, but those valuers have their own criteria. And if they assess the Eastern border area, which, because of Russia, is currently toxic land, they will not assess that land fairly,” worries J. Trupovnieks, who thinks that the Cabinet of Ministers should adopt a decision that will set the procedure for how and in what amount compensation must be paid.
The head of Augšdaugava municipality, Vitālijs Aizbalts, also points out that the residents of his municipality are concerned whether the compensation will actually be fair. “The draft annotation of the anti-mobility law states that the compensation will be fair, but no one can say what fair payment really is. Will it include lost profit? Will they compensate people for loans taken for business development that must be repaid, while their land is taken away where they had planned to earn that profit; there must also be some bonuses for the disruption of economic activity,” says V. Aizbalts. “We support that our land must be defended from the first centimetre and millimetre, but then entrepreneurs and residents who will live with all this must also be supported.”
Rinkēvičs visited the Eastern border on 19 August to assess on the spot the progress in constructing border security infrastructure. He gave a positive assessment of the progress in building the border security infrastructure and in deploying anti-mobility materiel.
During the visit he stressed that Latvia’s eastern border strip should be extended. “The fence deters somewhat, but it is not a panacea; systems and border guards are needed. This is a question of personnel. I am glad about the cooperation between the National Armed Forces and the State Border Guard (VRS). Thanks to both the VRS and the NBS personnel who are already patrolling and repelling hybrid attacks,” said E. Rinkēvičs.
To ensure that border protection measures are carried out smoothly and legally, the Saeima needs to adopt the Anti-Mobility Infrastructure Law. At the meeting of the National Security Council held on 20 August, the country’s highest officials agreed on the need to adopt this law as soon as possible.
Latvia’s border with Belarus and Russia is 448 kilometres long.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/pierobeza-satraukums-par-robezas-iekartosanai-vajadzigo-ipasumu-atpirksanas-cenam-jaatperk-bus-tukstosiem-hektari/
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