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.

• Riga City Council will not ban 16 March events in Riga
• Saeima’s civic education subcommittee supported a proposal to grant 16 March status of the official commemoration day of Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires
• MPs received an e-mail from the extremist organisation “Tautas Trubunals” with insults and direct threats
• Activist of the political party Unity wants to receive names of deputies who signed for support of a referendum on granting Russian language status of a state language

The Riga City Council will not ban the events planned to be held in Riga on 16 March – unofficial commemoration day of Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires. According to the Council’s Executive Director Juris Radzevics, the law enforcement bodies do not see threats for public order and security due to the planned events. This year, four organisations submitted application for events in the centre of Riga – nationalists’ organisations “Hawks of Daugava”, “Centre of Gustavs Celmins”, youth organisation “Let’s Play” which will hold a procession and pickets commemorating legionnaires and the “Union against Nazism” which will held a protest action against the procession of the legionnaires and their supporters. Vesti Segodnya

Yesterday, the Saeima’s civic education subcommittee of the Education, Science and Culture Committee supported a proposal of the nationalists’ union to grant 16 March status of the official commemoration day of Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires. The annotation to the draft law says that granting 16 March status of the official commemoration day “would restore historical justice and promote respectful attitude of the state authorities and society towards the Latvian national warriors.” On 14 March, the Saeima will decide whether to forward the draft law for further revision in its committees. In the meantime, the Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis stated that the majority of the MPs do not support such proposal, because the meaning of this date is too controversial and it does not unite the society but rather splits it.  Vesti Segodnya, Diena, Neatkariga

Vesti Segodnya reports that all the MPs received an e-mail from the extremist organisation “Tautas Trubunals” (People’s Tribunal – in English) with insults and direct threats to life to a number of politicians. The email contains many Russophibic and anti-Semitic epithets. In particular, authors of the email delivered to the e-mail address of the MP Valerijs Agesins (Concord Centre) stated that he resides in Latvia illegally and a revenge of ethnic Latvians is waiting for him. Mr Agesins is planning to turn to the Security Police asking to initiate a criminal proceeding on incitement to ethnic hatred and threats to life to a state official.

Latvijas Avize reports about attempts of an activist of the political party Unity Gatis Purins to receive from the Central Election Committee (CEC) names of the Parliament’s members and municipal deputies who signed for support of a referendum on granting Russian language status of a state language in Latvia. Gatis Purins believes the society has the right to know the state officials who supported such initiative. However, the CEC refused the claim of Mr Purins, the Administrative Distrcit Court also refused the claim to check the electronic data base of the Committee.