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.

Press Review

Minister of Foreign Affairs Valdis Birkavs is ready to meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Yevgeniy Primakov to discuss the events of the 3rd March and the Russia's reaction to them, Press Secretary of the MFA Andrejs Pildegovics informed journalists. The Russian Ambassador Udaltsov commenting the willingness of the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs to meet with the Russian counterpart, said that the wording of the visit statement was, to certain extant, unusual. "Unless the visit has some propaganda objectives - which I hope is not the case of the Latvian side, there is a general practice of co-ordinating possibilities, purposes, time schedules, and the most important - the content of such visits," the Ambassador said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Valdis Birkavs is ready to meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Yevgeniy Primakov to discuss the events of the 3rd March and the Russia's reaction to them, Press Secretary of the MFA Andrejs Pildegovics informed journalists. The Russian Ambassador Udaltsov commenting the willingness of the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs to meet with the Russian counterpart, said that the wording of the visit statement was, to certain extant, unusual. "Unless the visit has some propaganda objectives - which I hope is not the case of the Latvian side, there is a general practice of co-ordinating possibilities, purposes, time schedules, and the most important - the content of such visits," the Ambassador said. Diena

On Tuesday the Latvian MFA sent a diplomatic note to the Russian Embassy in which there is an official opinion regarding the events at the Riga City Council last week. In the note it is stated that Latvia considers the tone of the statements by the Russian officials as unacceptable and violating diplomatic and ethic norms. Paul Gouble, Analyst of the Radio Free Europe, comments the Russian reaction to the 3rd March events as an attempt of some Russian politicians to get higher political rating. According to Gouble, the crisis in the Russian-Latvian relations shows that they are so unstable that might be undermined by a small incident. An official of the USA State Department who wanted to be anonymous, said that there are no proofs to the Russian statement that Latvia violated the human rights of picketing pensioners, and asked the Latvian government to investigate whether the Police have violated law. At the same time the representative of the State department expressed the support for rights of the Russian pensioners residing in Latvia to organize demonstrations to improve their living standards. 

On Tuesday the Latvian MFA sent a diplomatic note to the Russian Embassy in which there is an official opinion regarding the events at the Riga City Council last week. In the note it is stated that Latvia considers the tone of the statements by the Russian officials as unacceptable and violating diplomatic and ethic norms. Paul Gouble, Analyst of the Radio Free Europe, comments the Russian reaction to the 3rd March events as an attempt of some Russian politicians to get higher political rating. According to Gouble, the crisis in the Russian-Latvian relations shows that they are so unstable that might be undermined by a small incident. An official of the USA State Department who wanted to be anonymous, said that there are no proofs to the Russian statement that Latvia violated the human rights of picketing pensioners, and asked the Latvian government to investigate whether the Police have violated law. At the same time the representative of the State department expressed the support for rights of the Russian pensioners residing in Latvia to organize demonstrations to improve their living standards.Diena

Moscow will examine the official note of Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will decide on the further activities, Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Russian MFA Valerie Nesterushkin said. According the representative of the Russian MFA, the strict reaction to the events of the 3rd March was instigated by the fact that this was not a single action, but the expression of general policy towards the non-native residents of Latvia practiced by the Latvian government .

Moscow will examine the official note of Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will decide on the further activities, Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Russian MFA Valerie Nesterushkin said. According the representative of the Russian MFA, the strict reaction to the events of the 3rd March was instigated by the fact that this was not a single action, but the expression of general policy towards the non-native residents of Latvia practiced by the Latvian government . B&B

Aris Jansons, 

Aris Jansons,Diena commentator, analyzing the possible economic sanctions against Latvia, states that several Russian regions will also experience these sanctions, for example, the Novgorod region which was interested in joint ventures and investments. Besides, non-Latvians in Latvia are ones the closest related with the businesses in Russia, therefore the sanctions against Latvia will hit them first of all. In his comments Aris Jansons express the assumption that by imposing economic sanctions against Latvia, Russian wants to create an additional "friction" among the Baltic States.

Dienapublishes an article about the situation with non-citizen passports in the Latgales District DCMA, Riga. Some 1007 people are waiting in line, while the department can accept only 40 applications per day. As the deputy head of the Latgale district division told Diena, the issuance of passports is hindered mainly by the technological process. "Not all people have met the requirements of the Resident Register and have made an order in documents when getting married, divorced or changing the place of residence. Therefore it takes time to make order in the Resident's Register," - Deputy Head of the Division said. Diena

Panorama Latvii publishes the official letter of Ints Zitars, Head of the DCMA, to the Minister of the Interior Ziedonis Cevers in which he informs the minister about the hiring additional 30 persons for the passport issuance. At the same time he reminds about the necessity to have additional financing for the improvement of the passport issuance process. The newspaper also publishes the letter of the Minister of the Interior to the Minister of Finance regarding additional 254,092 Lats necessary for the improvement the situation with the non-citizen passport issuance. The third official letter published by Panorama Latvii is the letter of the Minister of the Interior to the Minister President regarding the picket at the Riga City Council on 3 March, 1998.

Panorama Latviialso informs readers about the meeting of the Saeima Human Rights Commission on Tuesday concerning the non-citizen passports. As Deputy Head of the DCMA A. Lejins informed the Commission, there are two ways how to solve the problem. One way is to prolong the term for travelling to Russia with the USSR external passports until October 1, and to prolong the term for returning to Latvia with the USSR internal passports until 30 June. The second way is to intensify the issuance of passports by hiring additional personnel . Panorama Latvii

An article in

An article in SM draws readers' attention to drafts of several legislative documents which "might hit people harder than the sticks used against women and the elderly people." The first one is a draft of the Second Part of the Constitution on Human Rights, namely the version presented by the Tevzemei un Brivibai/LNNK faction, in which it is stated that Latvia guarantees the rights to return to the country as well as the state protection in abroad only to the citizens of Latvia. The second document mentioned in the article is the Draft Language Law which "contains several provisions discriminating the national minorities, namely, it obliges to use the state language at meeting of private companies. Finally, there are amendments to the Citizenship Law prepared by the Tevzemei un Brivibai/LNNK which provide for the introduction of annul quotas for the naturalization. SM

Russian President Boris Yeltsin receives all information and is worried about the events in Latvia: the picket at the Riga City Council and an act of vandalism in Liepaja when the monument of the Soviet soldier was defiled, Advisor of the Russian President Sergey Prohodko informed

Russian President Boris Yeltsin receives all information and is worried about the events in Latvia: the picket at the Riga City Council and an act of vandalism in Liepaja when the monument of the Soviet soldier was defiled, Advisor of the Russian President Sergey Prohodko informed SM.