Vice-Mayor's remarks about 'monkeys' to be reviewed by ethics committee

Riga Vice-Mayor Edvards Ratnieks faces an ethics committee review following a controversial social media post in which he referred to Pakistanis as "monkeys" and stated they should be deported. The remarks were made in response to a post on the social network X (formerly Twitter) alleging that a Pakistani man had harassed a Latvian girl.

Ratnieks' comment, "Thanks for the information! Handed over to the police! These monkeys must be deported!" has drawn sharp criticism. The post on X was subsequently hidden from public view, reportedly due to content moderation policies. The City Council's ethics committee, prompted by its chairwoman Lauma Paegļkalna, has decided to examine Ratnieks' statements, with a session potentially scheduled for this week.

Despite the backlash, Ratnieks has defended his comments, stating he is not ashamed of his words. He argued that while he may have used "harsh words," they were appropriate for the situation. Ratnieks also criticized the media for focusing on his statement rather than what he described as "adult immigration threats," suggesting the media was deflecting from the larger issue.

His remarks come shortly after the adoption of a new Ethics Code for city employees, including deputies, which emphasizes fairness, responsibility, objectivity, and respect. The code explicitly states that employees must not insult or demean colleagues or others and must avoid behavior that could suggest dishonest conduct. Complaints regarding violations are handled by the ethics committee, and its decisions are published. This is the second case to be reviewed by the committee, the first involving a warning issued to Deputy Vjačeslavs Stepaņenko.