RIGA, Jan 10 (LETA) - On January 10, President Edgars Rinkevics participated in the opening of the Latvian National Partisans Memorial Site in Kabile Parish of Kuldiga Municipality, delivering a speech to commemorate the occasion, LETA learned from the president's aide Martins Dregeris.

"Christmas is a special time in the history of our nation's fight for independence. We honor the riflemen who died in the First World War, we remember and commemorate those Latvian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Christmas battles in Kurzeme during the Second World War, fighting in their hearts and minds for Latvia, but in the armies of foreign countries," the president said at the event.

Almost 80 years ago, during the dark period of occupation, when it seemed that the flame of freedom was on the verge of being extinguished, our national partisans were able to restore the Latvian state within a small territory for 24 hours. We are indebted to them for this achievement, and today we unveil this monument to honor their memory and remind of our nation's yearning for freedom, said President Rinkevics.