Integration monitor

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.

July 26, 2005

  • Diena discusses reaction of Police officers towards persons in dressed in swastika-emblazoned clothes
  • An interview with the Minister of Education and Science Ina Druviete

Diena notes that during the Gay Pride, which took place last Saturday in Riga, police officers, that guarded the parade, showed no reaction to or dealt with persons dressed in swastika-emblazoned clothes. Among such persons were members of illegal national radical organisation Perkonkrusts. The deputy chairperson of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia Ilze Brands Kehris believes that no reaction from the side of police officers towards such symbols is a dangerous tendency in particular in times when societys tolerance level is very low. While the Chief of the Riga Order Police Valdis Voins points out that polices previous attempts to initiate a case for the usage of symbols similar to the Nazi swastika have failed.

Latvijas Avize features an interview with the Minister of Education and Science Ina Druviete about the situation of the Latvian language in the context of implementation of the minority education reform. The Minister stresses that by the implementation of the minority education reform division of schools in Latvia in so-called Latvian and Russian schools has come to an end. The Minister argues that the state does not implement the assimilatory policy as primary education institutions provide minority education programmes in eight languages, but secondary education institutions – in five languages. Ina Druviete believes that a person should know Latvian if s/he wants to participate in public life and make career in Latvia. The Minister also states that at the moment minority schools are better equipped with teaching materials than Latvian-language schools.

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  • Integration Monitor - daily Latvian press digest on minority and social integration issues

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