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.
March 26, 2013
- MP Janis Upenieks: state institutions should publish IP addresses of internet users who incite ethnic hatred
- Neatkariga: rectors of some higher education establishments have insufficient state language proficiency
The MP Janis Upenieks (Free Democrats) stated that the state institutions should publish IP addresses of internet users who incite ethnic hatred. Mr Upeniekes stated that there are many insulting and anti-national expressions which are inadmissible in public space. According to Mr Upenieks: “reading comments on the Internet, especially on Russian language portals, I have unpleasant feeling that authors of such comments most likely live in Latvia.” Vesti Segodnya
According to Neatkariga, despite the fact that the academic personnel of the Latvian higher education establishments are required to be proficient in Latvian language to the highest level of proficiency, some of the foreign rectors still are not as proficient in Latvian as required. There are two private higher education establishments headed by the foreign rectors with insufficient state language proficiency level, however, no sanctions are applied to them. According to the head of the control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis, study process in these education establishments is conducted mostly in English and the majority of students are foreigners, so damage caused to the interests of Latvian language is comparatively small, and besides that, there are regulations which permit such situation. Representatives of the mentioned higher education establishments explained that the rectors promised to learn the language and take private lessons to learn it but so far they use interpreters when needed. Neatkariga also reports that the Ministry of Education and Science is currently developing the draft law easing the requirement for state language proficiency for foreign academic personnel.