Integration monitor is a daily Latvian press digest on ethnic minority and society integration issues. The Monitor reviews the biggest Latvian dailies: Diena, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga (in Latvian language), Vesti Segodnya (in Russian language). In specific cases other information sources are used. Latvian Centre for Human Rights is not responsible for information published by the media.

• Concord Centre once again proposes to set 7 January – Orthodox Christian Christmas as a bank holiday in Latvia
• Council of Non-governmental Organisations of Latvia sent an open letter to the Ombudsman
• Vesti Segodnya reports about the amendments to the Law on Asylum
• Belorussian cultural association celebrated its anniversary

The Saeima’s faction of the Concord Centre (CC) once again submitted to the Saeima a proposal on setting 7 January – Orthodox Christian Christmas as a bank holiday in Latvia. The CC reminded that a year ago the governing coalition following the initiative of the Reforms Party prepared a draft law stipulating that every resident has the right to take one day off once in a year. Thus people who do not celebrate Christmas on 25 December could do it on 7 January. However, up to this day, the Saeima has not viewed this draft law. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya publishes an open letter by the Council of Non-governmental Organisations of Latvia to the Ombudsman Juris Jansons. The NGO criticizes the conclusions of the Ombudsman made following the results of the monitoring of bilingual education in national minority schools as he proposed to increase the control over the usage of the Latvian language in Russian minority schools and to transfer education in minority secondary schools into Latvian language only. The NGO considers that such conclusions are dangerous and disintegrate the society. The NGO also stresses that 75% of the students who were surveyed during the monitoring stated that they do not want to increase the proportion of Latvian language in educative process and this opinion cannot be ignored.

Recently, the Saeima has adopted the amendments to the Law on Asylum which also regulate the conditions of detention, rights and responsibilities of asylum seekers. The human rights experts criticize the amendments because it envisions that asylum seekers who break the rules of internal regulations are to be isolated in the place of detention together with criminals who are on the international wanted list. According to the lawyer of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights Dzena Andersone, it is wrong to give the same punishment to people who commit minor violations as to the people who commit major violations, such as actions aimed against health and life of other people, including personnel. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya reports about a 20th anniversary of the national cultural association of Belorussians in Latvia “Pramen” and 25th anniversary of Belorussian folk ensemble “Nadzeja”.