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.

April 11, 2006

  • Enterprise Register registered the radical political party All for Latvia!
  • Supreme Court Senate will review the case of Yurijs Petropavlovskis
  • President of Latvia finds the punishment with a suspended sentence in the case of instigation of racial hatred insufficient
  • Russian representative in PACE about possible continuation of post-monitoring dialog with Latvia

Yesterday the Enterprise Register has registered the radical political party All for Latvia!. The aim of the party is to introduce Latvian language as the main language of communication, including in the private sector. The representatives of All for Latvia believe that Latvian citizenship should be granted only to persons of ethnic Latvian origin and to those who are loyal to the state. All for Latvia is planning to run for the Saeima elections this year. Chas, Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

Today the Supreme Court Senate will review the case on the denial of the Cabinet of Ministers to grant Latvian citizenship to the activist of the Headquarters for the Defence of Russian-Language Schools Yurijs Petropavlovskis. As reported, the government argued that Yurijs Petropavlovskis is not a loyal citizen because of his activities in organizing protest actions against minority education reform. The Administrative Regional Court refused the claim of Petropavlovskis. The Court argued that the claim was beyond the courts competence as this was not an administrative, but a political case. Chas, Latvijas Avize

In the interview with Latvijas Avize, the President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga criticized the Riga Regional Courts decision to punish three young men guilty of the instigation of racial hatred only with a suspended sentence. Vaira Vike-Freiberga believes that this is an extraordinarily severe crime, first of all, towards humanity… The fact that these persons were punished with a suspended sentence signalizes that we do not have a deeply condemnatory attitude towards the cases when a person is attacked, humiliated, or assaulted on the street just because s/he comes from another country or has a different skin colour. As reported, several persons physically assaulted a dark-skinned citizen of the United States and a staff member of the US Embassy in Latvia on July 2005.

The representative of the Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Leonid Sluckiy has stated that Russia might insist on the continuation of the post-monitoring dialog with Latvia if the situation of Russian-speaking population does not change. Leonid Sluckiy has noted that the post-monitoring dialog with Latvia will be closed in June. Vesti Segodnya

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

Search

From To
Submit