Riga - The head of Latvia's Lutheran church honoured soldiers who fought in a Nazi Waffen SS unit as "heroes" yesterday for helping beat back the Soviet Union during the second World War.
"You are heroes in Latvia's history and we honour you as such," Archbishop Janis Vagans told about 700 veterans at an annual memorial service in Riga's 13th-century Dome cathedral.
Latvia's Jewish leaders, however, bristled at Archbishop Vagans's description of the men as freedom fighters. "This is a day when these men can honour fallen soldiers, but in no way is this a day that has anything to do with the freedom of Latvia," said the head of the Jewish community of Latvia, Mr Gregory Krupnikov.