• Neatkariga interviews the Minister of Education Ina Druviete
• Neatkariga reports about the idea to create a new Baltic TV channel in Russian language
• The head of the Saeima’s Society Consolidation Committee Ilmars Latkovskis: respect for teachers would be more important for society integration than transition of minority schools into Latvian
• Headquarters for Protection of Russian Language Schools plans picket against the Ombudsman

 

Neatkariga interviews the Minister of Education Ina Druviete. Regarding the state language policy, the Minister said that it is important to ensure the dominance of Latvian language in entrepreneurship and to amend the State Language Law in order to eliminate unmotivated requirements for foreign language proficiency. Mrs Druviete believes that employers demanding Russian language proficiency without reason put ethnic Latvian young people in disadvantage.  The Minister asserts that the government’s plan that all school subjects except minority language, literature and culture in national minority schools are to be taught in Latvian language starting with 2018 is motivated by the need to strengthen state language positions. At the same time, the Minister denies that there will be dramatic changes saying that the main aim is to improve education quality in Latvian language. According to the Minister, the main aim is to create preconditions, motivation, to persuade teachers, parents, public opinion makers that the model of bilingual education with greater Latvian language proportion is the most appropriate. The Minister believes that education system should partly compensate lack of ethnic Latvian environment in the society. 

Neatkariga reports about the idea of representatives of the Latvian Television and their Estonian colleagues to create a new Baltic or even Europe-wide TV channel in Russian language which would be an alternative to Russia’s channels for Russian speaking residents. Russian journalists Ksenija Zagarovska believes that in order to attract wider public and be competitive with other channels in Russian language such channel needs to provide some new content. At the same time, Mrs Zagarovska is skeptical about such channel as it is naive to believe that it will make Russians to think in a “right” way. Media expert Sergejs Kruks is also skeptical about establishment of such TV channel arguing that the authors of the idea most likely know nothing about local Russians and their interests and the do not ask experts who know such things. 

Latvijas Avize interviews the head of the Saeima’s Society Consolidation Committee Ilmars Latkovskis about comparison of the events in Ukraine and the situation in Latvia. Mr Latkovskis stresses that Russian residents ofLatvia are not something homogenous and believes that large number of them are pro-European. According to Mr Latkovskis, in order to promote integration in Latvia it is important to act purposefully, for instance, to draw closer attention at preparation of teachers for Russian language schools stressing the personality of a teacher – if a teacher is smart and sophisticated students will have respect not only for the teacher but also towards the subjects he/she teaches – Latvian history, language and literature. Mr Latkovskis believes that such action would be much more important than transition of education in all Russian language schools into Latvian language in 2018. 

The Headquarters for Protection of Russian Language Schools and a forum “For Progress in Latvia” will hold a picket for resignation of the Ombudsman Juris Jansons. The activists believe that the Ombudsman does not want to defend rights of all residents equally. Vesti Segodnya

• Lutheran priest Guntis Kalme likens Soviet-era migrants to the Nazis
• Minister of Education Ina Druviete praises bilingual education in a meeting with foreign colleagues

Vesti Segodnya quotes statements of the Evangelical Lutheran priest Guntis Kalme made in an interview with Latvijas Avize. G. Kalme said that Latvia is asked "to integrate into the society the occupants and their descendants. Would anyone express similar proposal to the Israeli Jews – that they should integrate the Nazis?" Mr. Kalme acts as a spiritual leader of the congregation of former Latvian Waffen-SS legionnaires and politically repressed persons.

According to Vesti Segodnya, the Minister of Education Ina Druviete met with representatives of Georgia and Ukraine stressing the importance of bilingual education and Latvia’s successful practice. The Minister said that the bilingual education deepens the level of knowledge allowing students to develop their native language, culture and traditions.

• Minister of Education again met with activists against language reform in ethnic minority schools

Latvijas Avize reports about a repeated meeting of the Minister of Education Ina Druviete with activists against language reform in ethnic minority schools Vladimirs Buzajevs, Aleksandrs Gilmans and representative of Russian parents Konstantins Cepusins. V. Buzajevs asserted that if proportion of education in Latvian language in minority schools grows it will harm quality of education. The Minister Druviete did not agree with such assertion, but both parts agreed that it is necessary to conduct researches about the impact of the language reform 2004 in ethnic minority schools and to compare results of examination between students of Latvian language and ethnic minority schools. It is also necessary to check the proportion of ethnic minority students who received scholarship in state funded higher education establishments during past several years. Yesterday, the protestors of the language reform planned for 2018 held another protest action.

• 35,7% of Latvian residents who speak Russian language in family do not see justifications for Russia’s actions in Ukraine
• Latvijas Avize prints comments of the Concord Centre’s politicians about the position of local Russians regarding possible Russia’s aggression against Latvia
• Well-know Russian stand-up comedian and writer Mihail Zadornov might be deprived of residence permit in Latvia
• Forum of parents representing ethnic minority students scheduled for 12 April
• Headquarters for the Support of Russian Language Schools prepared its demands on education in ethnic minority schools
• Vladimirs Buzajevs: the language reform in ethnic minority schools is initiated by the nationalists because students of Russian language schools show better results

According to a public opinion survey conducted by SKDS, 35,7% of Latvian residents who speak Russian language in family do not see justifications for Russia’s actions in Ukraine, while 43,1% believe that there are grounds for such actions. Among Latvian language speaking residents, 78,3%  do not see justification and only 7,7% see it. Diena

Latvijas Avize prints comments of the Concord Centre’s politicians about the position of local Russians regarding possible Russia’s aggression against Latvia. The politicians believe that a question about theoretical Russia’s aggression is provocative. Thus, the MP Igors Pimenovs believes that local Russian residents are a resource for Latvia and not a “fifth column” and those who serve in Latvia’s military forces will act according to the oath they gave. The MP Andrejs Klementjevs does not see any connection between Crimea and Baltic states and says that local Russians would fight for Latvia as a country but not for its government because for all past 20 years people integrated into the society, but into the state. Mr Klementjevs also believes that young people do not feel attached to the USSR unlike 60-80 years old people who were young during the Soviet era.

The Saeima’s Consolidation Committee forwarded to the Ministry of Interior a letter asking to check whether publications of well-know Russian stand-up comedian and writer Mihail Zadornov incite ethnic hatred. The MPs received complaint from a Latvian resident who requested to revoke M. Zadornov’s residence permit in Latvia because he supported reunion of Crimea with Russia. Vesti Segodnya, Diena

Vesti Segodnya reports about a forum of parents representing ethnic minority students scheduled for 12 April in Riga. An organiser of the forum Konstantins Cekusins wants to mobilize parents with an aim to create a mechanism for realisation of parents’ rights to impact decision making process in education and to show that they are the main customers of education.

Before a protest action against transfer of education in ethnic minority schools into Latvian language scheduled for today, the Headquarters for the Support of Russian Language Schools prepared its demands. The Headquarters demand to exclude from the government’s and governing coalition’s documents plans for language transition in minority schools; to cancel all legal restrictions to study in Russian language at the same time ensuring high quality Latvian language learning; on the basis of pre-war Latvia's experience to introduce a norm obliging the municipality to open class with minority language of instruction if certain number of parents demand so; to restore the practice of separate education programs and separate centralised examination for graduates of Latvian language and ethnic minority schools; to abolish the legal norms which discriminate against the graduates of ethnic minority schools comparing to graduates of Latvian language schools; to ensure high quality preparation of teachers for ethnic minority schools funded by the state. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya reports about a research on the results of centralised examination in Latvian language schools and ethnic minority schools ordered by the Ministry of Education in 2009. According to an activist for support of Russian language schools Vladimirs Buzajevs, results of the research clearly reveal that students of ethnic minority schools showed better results in all subjects than students of Latvian language schools from 2006 to 2009 or before the introduction of the common centralised examination in Latvian language for all schools. V. Buzajevs believes that the fact that graduates of ethnic minority schools have better results is the real reason why nationalists proposed to transfer education into Latvian language.

 

• Neatkariga reports about a discussion about Roma education in Latvia
• Saeima’s sub-committee on patriotic education met with representatives of Russian language media in Latvia
• Union of Citizens and Non-citizens reminds Russia’s and European Ombudsmen about non-citizens in Latvia

Neatkariga reports about a discussion about Roma education in Latvia held on the International Roma Day. According to a researcher of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights Sigita Zankovska-Odina, the reasons why Roma situation does not improve over years are the lack of long-term development program for support of Roma in municipalities and the lack of comprehensive approach for support of teachers, as well as insufficient number of Roma teacher’s assistants who can help Roma children to adapt to unusual environment and language. Another great concern is the fact that about quarter of Roma children study according to special programmes or even in special schools. Thus, Roma are often put in correctional classes due to insufficient Latvian language proficiency, misbehaviour and ethnic peculiarities. These obstacles result in the fact that many Roma students leave schools and later cannot find jobs.

The Saeima’s sub-committee on patriotic education met with representatives of Russian language media in Latvia. Participants of the discussion were asked to give their opinion on how to strengthen belonging of local ethnic minorities to Latvian state and whether private media should also be engaged in such mission. Media representatives stressed that they all want that Latvia becomes prosperous country and that all Latvian residents regardless of their native language and ethnicity see Latvia as their motherland. Journalists from TV channel LTV7 which broadcasts news in Russian language mentioned the lack of state funding as a factor hindering attraction of a larger audience. Head of the public television LTV Ivars Belte said that there is no clear state media policy and communication strategy with Russian speakers. Mr Belte also proposed to establish a united Baltic TV Channel in Russian language which would be funded by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and would be able to compete with Russia’s channels. Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize  

Head of the Union of Citizens and Non-citizens Vladimirs Sokolovs sent letters to the Russia’s Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin and Ella Pamfilova and European Ombudsman Emilie O’Reilly reminding about the large scale non-citizenship in Latvia. V. Sokolovs stresses that these people committed no crime, yet were collectively stripped of their voting rights and now the non-citizens are neither citizens, nor foreigners, nor stateless persons, thus a category, unknown in public international law. Vesti Segodnya