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.

• State Language Centre initiated an administrative violation procedure about a poster in Ukrainian language
• Latvian writer Marina Kostenecka: ethnic Latvians should stop treating national minorities as Guinea pigs making experiments on them
• Latvijas Avize reports about a project on integration of third country nationals

The State Language Centre (SLC) initiated an administrative violation procedure about a poster with a text in Ukrainian language hanged on a building of the Salaspils library. The library hosted a delegation from Ukraine and hanged out a poster with a text in Ukrainian “Sincerely welcome to our Ukrainian friends on the Latvian land.” An unknown person submitted a complaint to the SLC about possible violation of the State Language Law in official communication by state institutions. Head of the Salaspils Region Council does not agree that hanging of such poster is violation and is ready to hang it out again if another Ukrainian delegation comes. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya quotes a well known Latvian writer Marina Kostenecka who says that ethnic Latvians should stop treating national minorities as Guinea pigs, on whom one could experiment by poisoning them with ethnic hatred and then testing their loyalty. Mrs Kostenecka also says “when I saw that 65% of ethnic minorities still consider themselves as patriots of Latvia (data from a survey of Latvia’s ethnic minorities “Sense of Belonging to Latvia”) I was not just surprised. I understood that even if a person does not sing Latvian folk songs, it does not mean he or she is an enemy of Latvia.”

Latvijas Avize reports about a project on integration of third country nationals in Latvia conducted by a youth creative union “Trepes.” In the framework of the project 68 foreign citizens took part in an informal training about life in Latvia – Latvian values, history, symbols, traditions, etc. According to one of the project organisers, for other country nationals it is important that they are not perceived as immigrants but they also want to feel important and as personalities.