Press Report

Today the Council for Cooperation between the Governing Factions will discuss the cooperation agreement drafted by Prime-Minister Skele. According to

Today the Council for Cooperation between the Governing Factions will discuss the cooperation agreement drafted by Prime-Minister Skele. According to "DIENA", the draft agreement allows the factions to adopt a decision even if it is opposed by one or two coalition factions. Although Skele suggested that all deputies should sign the agreement it will be signed only be the heads of the factions. The agreement is not likely to be signed this week, as some factions are putting forward their conditions. "Tevzemei un Brivibai" demands the post of the Saeima Deputy-Speaker for its member and objects against "Saimnieks" having three seats in the Saeima Presidium. The Prime-Minister hopes the agreement will facilitate decision-making in the Saeima. Analysts believe it will actually eliminate the "internal opposition" within the governing coalition while the "external opposition" has a minor importance after the split of the "Peoples' Harmony' and "Latvijai" factions. Diena, SM

The Latvian Human Rights Committee in its monthly report published by the

The Latvian Human Rights Committee in its monthly report published by the "SM" points at an increase of the number of complaints related to dwelling issues. The Committee doubts the efficiency of the measures recently taken by the Minister of The Interior to ensure the observance of the law by the CID. The CID issued thirteen expulsion orders and canceled twenty-six Register stamps in July. The CID officers continue the practice of pressing noncitizens to take foreign citizenship in order to obtain a residence permit. The Committee claims the issuing of residence permits to Russian citizenship ("instead of the Register of Inhabitants" stamp") to be illegal. The report quotes a letter by a provincial town procurator denying the right to reside in Latvia to a person who renounced her "propiska" in the country in 1989 and returned to Latvia in 1991. The procurator ignores the "Law on the Status of Former USSR Citizens..." that grants the right to return to Latvia to those who had "propiska' in the country "BEFORE" (but not "AS OF") June 1, 1992. The report also informs about the founding of the party "For Social Justice and Equality" with its program focused on human rights problems. Tatjana Zhdanok has been elected its Coordinator. SM

Press Report

The Russian parliamentary delegation laid an accent on human rights problems and Rubiks' case. According to Chairman of the Saeima Committee for Foreign Affairs Antons Seiksts, the Russian side was suffering the "big brother" syndrome. Head of the delegation Vladimir Lukin ("Yabloko"("Apple") says the main problems are the low intensity of relations between the two countries and "inadequate" treatment of noncitizens. Sergey Glotov ("Narodovlastiye" ("People's Power") named the human rights problems as the main subject for further discussions. In that connection he also mentioned 63 differences between the rights of citizens and noncitizens. Mr. Seiksts argued the point saying that by criticizing Latvia's laws Russia's representatives also criticized the Council of Europe, the laws being approved by that international body. Members of the Saeima Human Rights Committee dispelled the accusations of a deliberately planned discrimination of Russians in Latvia. Antons Seiksts told the press that he had expected Russian parliament members to be better informed of the situation in Latvia. Speaking about security issues, Mr. Lukin said the efforts to join NATO were contradicting Latvia's national interests. He said that Latvia would never be admitted to NATO and stressed that Russia was against the expansion of the block. He advised Latvia to consider a system that would allow both Russia and Latvia to "feel secure". Both parties were satisfied by the fact that the dialogue had been started by defining the problems of mutual interest. Valdis Birkavs and Vladimir Lukin during their meeting stressed the importance of making practical steps toward resolving the existing problems.

The Russian parliamentary delegation laid an accent on human rights problems and Rubiks' case. According to Chairman of the Saeima Committee for Foreign Affairs Antons Seiksts, the Russian side was suffering the "big brother" syndrome. Head of the delegation Vladimir Lukin ("Yabloko"("Apple") says the main problems are the low intensity of relations between the two countries and "inadequate" treatment of noncitizens. Sergey Glotov ("Narodovlastiye" ("People's Power") named the human rights problems as the main subject for further discussions. In that connection he also mentioned 63 differences between the rights of citizens and noncitizens. Mr. Seiksts argued the point saying that by criticizing Latvia's laws Russia's representatives also criticized the Council of Europe, the laws being approved by that international body. Members of the Saeima Human Rights Committee dispelled the accusations of a deliberately planned discrimination of Russians in Latvia. Antons Seiksts told the press that he had expected Russian parliament members to be better informed of the situation in Latvia. Speaking about security issues, Mr. Lukin said the efforts to join NATO were contradicting Latvia's national interests. He said that Latvia would never be admitted to NATO and stressed that Russia was against the expansion of the block. He advised Latvia to consider a system that would allow both Russia and Latvia to "feel secure". Both parties were satisfied by the fact that the dialogue had been started by defining the problems of mutual interest. Valdis Birkavs and Vladimir Lukin during their meeting stressed the importance of making practical steps toward resolving the existing problems. Diena, Neatkariga, SM Segodnya

Before starting the official program of its visit, the Duma delegation had a meeting human right activists, prominent social figures, and representatives of war veteran organizations. The issues discussed at the meeting included education and the rights of noncitizens. The Latvian Human Right Committee presented documents on human rights violations including 32 unlawful deportations. Some participants of the meeting called upon Russia to connect oil transit through Latvia with cultural, educational, and economic aid to Latvia's Russians.

Before starting the official program of its visit, the Duma delegation had a meeting human right activists, prominent social figures, and representatives of war veteran organizations. The issues discussed at the meeting included education and the rights of noncitizens. The Latvian Human Right Committee presented documents on human rights violations including 32 unlawful deportations. Some participants of the meeting called upon Russia to connect oil transit through Latvia with cultural, educational, and economic aid to Latvia's Russians. SM Segodnya

Russia's defence Institute Analyst Anatoly Surikov, believed to be one of the authors of the country's defence doctrine, made a extraordinary statement in a recent interview. He said that the joining of NATO by one of the three Baltic states would inevitably result in Russia invading the countries. He added that the Baltic states would still retain their independence after new governments were formed and Russian troops were withdrawn.

Russia's defence Institute Analyst Anatoly Surikov, believed to be one of the authors of the country's defence doctrine, made a extraordinary statement in a recent interview. He said that the joining of NATO by one of the three Baltic states would inevitably result in Russia invading the countries. He added that the Baltic states would still retain their independence after new governments were formed and Russian troops were withdrawn. SM

Russia's representatives at the Baltic Sea and European security Seminar in St. Petersburg stressed that NATO expansion would be unacceptable to Russia irrespective of who won the upcoming presidential elections. According to "DIENA's" observer Nordic Countries were concerned about Russia's approach while Finland's representative made it clear that the country might review its defence policies and could under certain circumstance join NATO. Among alternative schemes suggested at the seminar was the use of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the Baltic Council potentials to a full extend instead of discussing a possible admission of Baltic states to NATO. Other concepts included concentrating on the role of the OSCE and forming the Council for European Security with the following disbanding of NATO.

Russia's representatives at the Baltic Sea and European security Seminar in St. Petersburg stressed that NATO expansion would be unacceptable to Russia irrespective of who won the upcoming presidential elections. According to "DIENA's" observer Nordic Countries were concerned about Russia's approach while Finland's representative made it clear that the country might review its defence policies and could under certain circumstance join NATO. Among alternative schemes suggested at the seminar was the use of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the Baltic Council potentials to a full extend instead of discussing a possible admission of Baltic states to NATO. Other concepts included concentrating on the role of the OSCE and forming the Council for European Security with the following disbanding of NATO. Diena

According to "NEATKARIGA", Russian Embassy officials in private conversations about the number of Russian citizens residing in Latvia mention the figure of 50,000. 6,000 took part in the Duma elections while only 3,000 are registered with the CID. This allows to assume that thousands of Latvia's inhabitants hold both Russian passports and passports issued in Latvia.

According to "NEATKARIGA", Russian Embassy officials in private conversations about the number of Russian citizens residing in Latvia mention the figure of 50,000. 6,000 took part in the Duma elections while only 3,000 are registered with the CID. This allows to assume that thousands of Latvia's inhabitants hold both Russian passports and passports issued in Latvia.

"Tevzemei un Brivibai" Secretary General Aigars Kimenis while analyzing the "conflict" between the Ministry of the Interior and the CID points at different interpretation of the law by those institutions. He compares four groups handled differently by the Ministry and the CID. 1) Persons enlisted on the Latvian territory and demobilized after July 1, 1992. In this case the CID applies Article 1 Paragraph 4 of Decree # 266 by the Cabinet of Ministers of October 8, 1991, updated by Article 3 of Decree # 355 by the Cabinet of Ministers of August 25, 1992. According to the said documents the Law "On Foreigners and Stateless Persons' Entrance to and Stay in the Republic of Latvia" should be applied to this category. The Ministry of the Interior applies Article 1 of the Law "On Former USSR Citizens not having Citizenship of Latvia or of any other State" demanding to include the group into the Register of inhabitants through a general procedure. 2) Foreigners, mainly Russian citizens, with court decrees in their favor, who do not have all documents required for receiving a residence permit. The CID believes these persons not to be exempt of providing all required documents as determined by "The Regulations on the Term of Residence and Procedure for the issuing of Permanent Residence permits". The Ministry ignores the requirements. 3) Persons who had propiska in Latvia before July 1, 1992, and repatriated or left for the third country. According to the CID, such persons can enter Latvia only according to the Law "On Foreigners' and Stateless Persons' Entrance to and Stay in the Republic of Latvia". Part One of Article 1 of the Law "On the Status of Former USSR Citizens..." can be interpreted in the context of Articles 1 and 2 of the Decree "On the Procedure of the Coming into Force of the Law "On Foreigners' and Stateless Persons' Entrance to and Stay in the Republic of Latvia". This means that the law on Former USSR Citizens applies to individuals who had propiska in Latvia on July 1, 1992. While the Ministry applies the Law to all persons who had propiska in Latvia any time before the date. 4) Members of Russian servicemen's families, whose entrance to Latvia was not initially connected with the distribution of Russian troops, and who concluded marriages with Russian servicemen, left Latvia, and later entered the country already as a part of the army contingent. The CID believes the status of these persons top be depend on the nature of their last entry (Article 1, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 3 of the Law "On Former USSR Citizens..."). The Ministry of the Interior insist on taking into consideration their first entry. Mr. Kimenis stresses that the Ministry of the Interior interprets all arguable points in favor of the "colonists" and insists on stopping "the attempts to interfere with the work of the CID."

"Tevzemei un Brivibai" Secretary General Aigars Kimenis while analyzing the "conflict" between the Ministry of the Interior and the CID points at different interpretation of the law by those institutions. He compares four groups handled differently by the Ministry and the CID. 1) Persons enlisted on the Latvian territory and demobilized after July 1, 1992. In this case the CID applies Article 1 Paragraph 4 of Decree # 266 by the Cabinet of Ministers of October 8, 1991, updated by Article 3 of Decree # 355 by the Cabinet of Ministers of August 25, 1992. According to the said documents the Law "On Foreigners and Stateless Persons' Entrance to and Stay in the Republic of Latvia" should be applied to this category. The Ministry of the Interior applies Article 1 of the Law "On Former USSR Citizens not having Citizenship of Latvia or of any other State" demanding to include the group into the Register of inhabitants through a general procedure. 2) Foreigners, mainly Russian citizens, with court decrees in their favor, who do not have all documents required for receiving a residence permit. The CID believes these persons not to be exempt of providing all required documents as determined by "The Regulations on the Term of Residence and Procedure for the issuing of Permanent Residence permits". The Ministry ignores the requirements. 3) Persons who had propiska in Latvia before July 1, 1992, and repatriated or left for the third country. According to the CID, such persons can enter Latvia only according to the Law "On Foreigners' and Stateless Persons' Entrance to and Stay in the Republic of Latvia". Part One of Article 1 of the Law "On the Status of Former USSR Citizens..." can be interpreted in the context of Articles 1 and 2 of the Decree "On the Procedure of the Coming into Force of the Law "On Foreigners' and Stateless Persons' Entrance to and Stay in the Republic of Latvia". This means that the law on Former USSR Citizens applies to individuals who had propiska in Latvia on July 1, 1992. While the Ministry applies the Law to all persons who had propiska in Latvia any time before the date. 4) Members of Russian servicemen's families, whose entrance to Latvia was not initially connected with the distribution of Russian troops, and who concluded marriages with Russian servicemen, left Latvia, and later entered the country already as a part of the army contingent. The CID believes the status of these persons top be depend on the nature of their last entry (Article 1, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 3 of the Law "On Former USSR Citizens..."). The Ministry of the Interior insist on taking into consideration their first entry. Mr. Kimenis stresses that the Ministry of the Interior interprets all arguable points in favor of the "colonists" and insists on stopping "the attempts to interfere with the work of the CID." Diena

Press Report

Chief Expert of the CID Juridical Division Laima Lace told NRA that the OSCE was pressing upon the CID. According to L.Lace, the pressure has increased lately. She told the newspaper that during one of her meetings with the OSCE representatives they said the following: "If you wish to be part of Europe you should take back all those demobilized servicemen, who have already left for Russia according the agreement and have received apartments there." The OSCE representatives, according to Lace, explained that it would be a "humane" step since "demobilized Russian servicemen are elderly people." Lace also says that the OSCE Mission informs its superiors about their recommendations being ignored and provide data completely different from information received from the CID. Ministry of Justice Press-Secretary Vitenburg told the newspaper that the Ministry had not addressed the CID with a letter accusing the CID officers in "deliberate cheating". A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior agrees that the word "cheating" was not used by the Ministry of Justice. Still, he refers to a letter by the Ministry of Justice of February 12, that says that despite the fact of implementation of a decree could be verbally confirmed by a CID officer, the actually might not be implemented. The letter also mentions the CID ignoring court decrees that have already come into force. Mr. Vitenburg of the Ministry of Justice explained that letters sent by the Ministry to the CID were purely informative, and that the Ministry did not require an investigation of the CID activities. CID Deputy-Director Dombrovskis among factors delaying court decree implementation named discrepancies in legislation and different interpretation of laws by legal bodies. The CID officers are working under a great strain and are underpaid, which also contributes to slow review of immigration-related cases, says Dombrovskis. When asked about the expected results of the inspection Dombrovskis replied that he was not sure about political forces that had initiated the inspection and about whether its aim was to improve the work of the CID or to eliminate the Department. Yesterday Minister of Interior Turlais issued an order on relieving CID Director's Advisor Ugis Sulcs and CID Deputy-Director Peteris Zviedris of their duties. CID Director Zitars received an official reprimand. The Ministry sent personal records of Head of the Supervision Division Janis Straume and Immigration Division Head Janis Eihmanis to Board for Civil Service. It is for the Board to decide whether to discharge them, since the two CID officers are candidates for state officials and the Minister is not in the position to replace them. Head of Passport Division Andris Janis Leins and officer of the Division Liga Jurjeva received an official reprimand for a low quality of materials prepared in response to the Saeima inquiries. CID Director Zitars yesterday submitted an application asking to be relieved of his duties. CID Deputy-Director Dombrovskis doubts whether the decision is properly justified. he characterizes Ugis Sulcs as a fanatic who has performed an immense amount of work but is lacking flexibility. Ugis sulcs told NRA that he had been hinted by a Russian Embassy officer about possible sanctions against the CID already few weeks before. It was only yesterday that Sulcs received materials containing claims put toward him by the Minister. Those include incorrect application of laws, ignoring terms set for review of cases, and non-implementation of court decrees. he explained that the CID was re-examining all former USSR passports exchanged for noncitizens' IDs. Those measures help to disclose illegal immigrants holding counterfeit or illegally issued passports. That could be the reason for his dismissal.

Chief Expert of the CID Juridical Division Laima Lace told NRA that the OSCE was pressing upon the CID. According to L.Lace, the pressure has increased lately. She told the newspaper that during one of her meetings with the OSCE representatives they said the following: "If you wish to be part of Europe you should take back all those demobilized servicemen, who have already left for Russia according the agreement and have received apartments there." The OSCE representatives, according to Lace, explained that it would be a "humane" step since "demobilized Russian servicemen are elderly people." Lace also says that the OSCE Mission informs its superiors about their recommendations being ignored and provide data completely different from information received from the CID. Ministry of Justice Press-Secretary Vitenburg told the newspaper that the Ministry had not addressed the CID with a letter accusing the CID officers in "deliberate cheating". A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior agrees that the word "cheating" was not used by the Ministry of Justice. Still, he refers to a letter by the Ministry of Justice of February 12, that says that despite the fact of implementation of a decree could be verbally confirmed by a CID officer, the actually might not be implemented. The letter also mentions the CID ignoring court decrees that have already come into force. Mr. Vitenburg of the Ministry of Justice explained that letters sent by the Ministry to the CID were purely informative, and that the Ministry did not require an investigation of the CID activities. CID Deputy-Director Dombrovskis among factors delaying court decree implementation named discrepancies in legislation and different interpretation of laws by legal bodies. The CID officers are working under a great strain and are underpaid, which also contributes to slow review of immigration-related cases, says Dombrovskis. When asked about the expected results of the inspection Dombrovskis replied that he was not sure about political forces that had initiated the inspection and about whether its aim was to improve the work of the CID or to eliminate the Department. Yesterday Minister of Interior Turlais issued an order on relieving CID Director's Advisor Ugis Sulcs and CID Deputy-Director Peteris Zviedris of their duties. CID Director Zitars received an official reprimand. The Ministry sent personal records of Head of the Supervision Division Janis Straume and Immigration Division Head Janis Eihmanis to Board for Civil Service. It is for the Board to decide whether to discharge them, since the two CID officers are candidates for state officials and the Minister is not in the position to replace them. Head of Passport Division Andris Janis Leins and officer of the Division Liga Jurjeva received an official reprimand for a low quality of materials prepared in response to the Saeima inquiries. CID Director Zitars yesterday submitted an application asking to be relieved of his duties. CID Deputy-Director Dombrovskis doubts whether the decision is properly justified. he characterizes Ugis Sulcs as a fanatic who has performed an immense amount of work but is lacking flexibility. Ugis sulcs told NRA that he had been hinted by a Russian Embassy officer about possible sanctions against the CID already few weeks before. It was only yesterday that Sulcs received materials containing claims put toward him by the Minister. Those include incorrect application of laws, ignoring terms set for review of cases, and non-implementation of court decrees. he explained that the CID was re-examining all former USSR passports exchanged for noncitizens' IDs. Those measures help to disclose illegal immigrants holding counterfeit or illegally issued passports. That could be the reason for his dismissal. Neatkariga

"Tevzemei un Brivibai" will address Prime-Minister Skele with a request to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Council for Interfaction Cooperation for listening to the opinion of the CID officers. Minister of Interior Parliamentary Secretary Janis Straume (TB) said that Sulcs' dismissal would paralyze all activities connected with retired Russian servicemen. He also noted that the dismissal of the CID executives was a violation of agreement between the governing coalition factions. The order issued by the Ministry of Interior among reasons for the dismissals names Zviedris' poor organizational skills along with delays in review of applications. The document also mentions complaints received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. Still, according to Mr. Straume, the Ministry of Justice mentioned improvement of the CID work. Minister of Interior Turlais at a meeting held at the Ministry yesterday stressed that "superficial and impolite treatment of inhabitants, non-implementation of court decrees, and justice of laws caused criticism also on the part of international organizations.

"Tevzemei un Brivibai" will address Prime-Minister Skele with a request to hold an extraordinary meeting of the Council for Interfaction Cooperation for listening to the opinion of the CID officers. Minister of Interior Parliamentary Secretary Janis Straume (TB) said that Sulcs' dismissal would paralyze all activities connected with retired Russian servicemen. He also noted that the dismissal of the CID executives was a violation of agreement between the governing coalition factions. The order issued by the Ministry of Interior among reasons for the dismissals names Zviedris' poor organizational skills along with delays in review of applications. The document also mentions complaints received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. Still, according to Mr. Straume, the Ministry of Justice mentioned improvement of the CID work. Minister of Interior Turlais at a meeting held at the Ministry yesterday stressed that "superficial and impolite treatment of inhabitants, non-implementation of court decrees, and justice of laws caused criticism also on the part of international organizations. Diena

head of the OSCE mission Charles Magee approved of the measures taken by Minister of Interior Turlais to improve the work of the CID. In an interview for "SM" he said that basic changes should be made within the CID. When asked about violation of human rights the Head of the Mission explained that though human rights were not directly included into the Mission's mandate, the Mission carefully monitors the human right situation in the country. The mission has collected numerous documents showing that the CID misinterprets laws on noncitizens. Talking about the CID Director Mr. Magee called the Mission's relations with Mr. Zitars "constructive". The number of violations has decreased under Zitars, says the Head of the Mission.

head of the OSCE mission Charles Magee approved of the measures taken by Minister of Interior Turlais to improve the work of the CID. In an interview for "SM" he said that basic changes should be made within the CID. When asked about violation of human rights the Head of the Mission explained that though human rights were not directly included into the Mission's mandate, the Mission carefully monitors the human right situation in the country. The mission has collected numerous documents showing that the CID misinterprets laws on noncitizens. Talking about the CID Director Mr. Magee called the Mission's relations with Mr. Zitars "constructive". The number of violations has decreased under Zitars, says the Head of the Mission. SM