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.

• Congress of Non-citizens: granting Latvian citizenship to a well-known chess player Garri Kasparov would be a spit in the face of all Latvian non-citizens
• Expert on constitutional rights Aivars Endzins: draft Preamble to the Constitution contradicts the Constitution itself

Vesti Segodnya reports about reaction of the society and politicians to a request of a well known Russian chess player and oppositional politician Garri Kasparov for Latvian citizenship sent to the Saeima’s factions. Mr Kasparov asks Latvia to grant him citizenship for special merits before Latvia. Mr Kasparov believes that his special merits are the fact that he took part in chess tournaments in Latvia (in 1970’s) and that his ex-wife is Latvian citizen, while his son has a residence permit in Latvia. While some politicians consider that Latvia will gain from granting Mr Kasparov citizenship, other politicians do not support it. Thus, MP Janis Dombrava (nationalists’ union) considers that the most important interest of Latvia is its security and not the attempts to annoy the President of a neighbour country by any means. MP Augusts Brigmanis (Union of Greens and Farmers) believes that it would be better if Mr Kasparov tries to go through the naturalisation procedure as non-citizens do. The Congress of Non-citizens also criticizes the request of MR Kasparov: the Congress believes that if the government grants him Latvian citizenship it would be a spit in the face of all non-citizens who have real merits before the state because they lived here all their life and worked for this country.

Neatkariga prints an interview with an expert on constitutional rights, ex-chairperson of the Constitutional Court Aivars Endzins about the draft Preamble to the Constitution of Latvia. According to Mr Endzins, the idea of the Preamble was raised because of the referendum on the status of Russian language in Latvia in order to prevent such referendum in the future. However, Mr Endzins stresses that the draft Preamble elaborated by the head of the President’s Commission on Constitutional Rights Egils Levits cannot solve this problem as it contradicts the Constitution itself. The draft Preamble says that Latvian independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty of people, Latvian language as a state language, democratic political system – are untouchable values.  Mr Endzins stresses that these issues are already included in the Article 77 of the Constitution which says that in order to change these values it is necessary to arrange referendum. Therefore, Mr Endzins believes that if it is really necessary to strengthen these values than the Article 77 should be amended to determine which articles cannot be amended.