• Urbanovics: Market competition is tough, therefore rivals are using Latvia's political disagreements to squeeze out Latvia
• Orthodox Christian church being rebuild in Jurmala

 

NRA interviews the leader of the Concord Centre Janis Urbanovics. He refutes the claim of the two ruling parties (the Unity and the union All for Latvia!-FF/LNIM) who declare themselves as "national-minded". According to Mr.Urbanovics, their politics is Russophobic, but not national-minded. He interprets the notion of "national-minded" as someone who cares for the whole state and the whole nation, including all of the country's ethnicities, but not someone who cares only for some specific ethnicity or interests group. Competition for Russian market is really tough, therefore rivals are using Latvia's political disagreements to outpace Latvia.

 

Vesti-Segodnya informs that the work on rebuilding an Orthodox Christian church in Jurmala has begun. The church was destroyed during the Soviet era. 

• The numbers of ethnic Latvian and Russian speaking prisoners have equalled

According to the new Director of the Latvian Prison Administration Ilona Spure, the numbers of ethnic Latvian and Russian speaking prisoners in Latvian prisons have reached parity. In the past years, the number of Russian speaking prisoners was higher – about 65%. Vesti Segodnya

• Academic Leo Taivans: Latvians do everything for immigrants to feel good in this country
• MP Janis Urbanovics: the most urgent problem in Latvia is split of the society

 Academic Leo Taivans (professor of Asian Studies Department of the University of Latvia) believes that Latvians do everything for immigrants to feel good in this country and if there is influx of Turks or Chinese to Latvia, Latvians will start to learn their languages. As an example, Mr Taivans mentions the fact that now a person cannot find a job in Latvia without Russian language proficiency. Mr Taivans also believes that ethnic Latvians as a nation most likely will disappear after couple generations because comparing to others it is a small nation but migration always was and will continue to be. Vesti Segodnya

According to the head of the Concord Centre’s faction in the Parliament Janis Urbanovics, the most urgent problem in Latvia which needs to be solved is split of the society. Mr Urbanovics believes that all other problems will be possible to solve only together.  Mr Urbanovics also expects for a new political party who would be rationally and nationally minded and aimed at development of the state and with such a party the Concord Centre could build partnership. Vesti Segodnya

 

• Latvijas Avize: new Latvian Ambassador in the UN, OSCE and other international organisations Bahtijors Hasans is an example of integration
• 585 persons got fined by the State Language Centre for violation of the State Language Law
• Court refused a claim on Latvianisation of a name Mark

Latvijas Avize reports about the appointment of the new Latvian Ambassador Bahtijors Hasans to the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE) and other international organisations in Vienna. According to the newspaper, Mr Hasans arrived to Latvia in 80’s from Uzbekistan as a student of Latvian language and literature and stayed here for residence. Mr Hasans made a diplomatic carrier and received Latvian citizenship for special merits. (Latvijas Avize, 23 July)

585 persons got fined by the State Language Centre for violation of the State Language Law during first six months of 2013. In total, the Centre received 661 complaints about violations during the same period. Vesti Segodnya

The Administrative District Court refused a claim on Latvianisation of a child’s name Mark. As reported, parents of a child who was born in Germany and registered there as Hugo Mark complained, that the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs registering the child in Latvia added Latvian ending –s to the name, thus, he became Marks. The Court argued that there are no reasons to consider that ending –s somehow complicates life of the child, especially because the original spelling of the name is written in his Latvian passport in a special column. Vesti Segodnya (23 July)

• Newspapers report about emigration and immigration statistics
• The court upheld the refusal to write original spelling of a child’s name in the birth certificate

 According to the data of the Central Statistics Bureau, 25 163 persons emigrated from Latvia and 13,303 arrived to Latvia for residence in 2012. 8,427 persons emigrated from Riga to other countries, while 4,776 foreigners became Riga residents in 2012. The biggest number of persons who left Latvia among Latvian regions were from Latgale (eastern part of Latvia) – 4,112, but only 1,771 persons moved to this region for residence. The majority of persons who lived with residence permit in Latvia in 2012 were citizens of other EU countries (59,9% or 7,305) and Russian Federation (22,6% or 3,009). Latvijas Avize, Diena, Neatkariga, Vesti Segodnya

The Liepaja Administrative Court upheld the decision of the Civil Registry Office who refused to issue a birth certificate with undistorted spelling of the name and surname of a newborn child. The parents gave their child traditional Russian name "Miron" and wanted to write it in the birth certificate without Latvian ending "–s" as it makes the name consonant with the word “mironis” which means “dead man” in Latvian language. Vesti Segodnya