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.

Press Report

Yesterday Prime-Minister Skele presented the draft agreement between factions at the meeting of the Council for Cooperation between Governing Factions. The Council refused commenting on the draft or making it public before it is studied by all governing factions. According to

Yesterday Prime-Minister Skele presented the draft agreement between factions at the meeting of the Council for Cooperation between Governing Factions. The Council refused commenting on the draft or making it public before it is studied by all governing factions. According to "DIENA", the draft agreement provides for adopting decisions by a qualified majority of votes in the Council even if one of the factions does not support a decision. The agreement also excludes the possibility of mandatory voting within a faction refusing to support a decision adopted by the rest of the coalition factions. Diena Deputy-Chairman of the Estonian Parliament Ruitel, former Minister of Defence Einseln, and member of the parliament Tarto circulated a statement proposing the forming of the Baltic military and political union. They call for concluding the Baltic security pact that would guarantee security for Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania until the three countries are admitted to NATO. The statement expresses concern about the possibility of "a backstage deal leaving the Baltic states in Russia's sphere of influence in exchange for a partial expansion of NATO". Estonian politicians suggest that USA, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Poland, Finland, and Denmark could join the pact. Diena

Yesterday the

Yesterday the Saeima Human Rights Committee refused to accept Vladlen Dozortsev's ("People's Harmony") proposal on drafting an official list of differences between the rights of citizens and noncitizens. Chairman of the Committee Antons Seiksts told the press it would be improper to give unofficial status to documents discrediting Latvia. Still, he agrees that certain restrictions currently in force should be canceled. He also supports granting noncitizens the right to volunteer for the army service. His views are shared by the Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs currently reviewing the draft law on military service. The Human Rights Committee addressed several state institutions with a request to analyze the existing restrictions of noncitizens' social rights. Some government officials gave purely formal responses. In that connection Mr. Dozortsev mentioned a letter by Minister of Justice Rasnacs ("Tevzemei un BrivibaI") refrring to it as "offending". Member of the Committee Juris Vidins ("Tevzemei un Brivibai") refused to discuss the issue claiming all noncitizens to be "colonizers" and objected against "legalizing their status in the country". The Committee decided that the "Peoples' Harmony" faction will submit its proposals on decreasing the number of restrictions on the rights of noncitizens while the Committee will review each restriction and will decide whether to draft a corresponding amendment to an applicable law. Diena, SM