Wood Industry Support Becomes Criminal Case: Rock Musicians in Liepāja Worried About Guitar Future

The General Prosecutor's Office has initiated criminal proceedings regarding possible crimes related to wood industry support. While Riga is still trying to understand what wood is and why they have to pay for it, Liepāja is already worrying about the serious matter — how to make guitars now.

As it turns out, the Ministry of Agriculture made a decision in 2023 to help wood industry companies based on an informational report that was prepared as qualitatively as Riga City Council meeting minutes — that is, hardly at all. The audit commission concluded that the analysis had been one-sided and based only on the industry association's opinion. That's like asking beer makers if they need more funding — the answer will be clear.

Liepāja rock music circles are already starting to worry. "If wood industry companies don't have money, what will we make guitars from then?" asks local musician Kārlis, who has been preparing a new album for the past two years. "Liepāja is Latvia's rock capital after all — we need quality wooden instruments to create the next legends!"

The most interesting thing is that LVM wasn't involved in preparing this report. That's like making a report about the state of fish in Liepāja port without asking the fishermen. As a result, the prosecutor's office is now investigating whether state officials acted in accordance with the law, or simply thought that money grows on trees.

At a time when the wind in Liepāja is blowing from the west at 12 meters per second, we can only hope that this case will be resolved faster than Riga's traffic problems. And that our musicians will still have something to make instruments from for the next rock legends.