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.

Integration and Minority Information Service of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights

• Vesti Segodnya interviews head of the State Service of Education Quality about a teacher of a Russian language school Vladislavs Rafalskis
• MP Ingmars Caklais: requirement for parents non-citizens to sign a paper promising to give the child patriotic education is not new

Vesti Segodnya interviews head of the State Service of Education Quality (SSEQ) Inita Juhnevica about the SSEQ’s position regarding a teacher of a Russian language school Vladislavs Rafalskis. According to Mrs Juhnevica teacher Rafalskis by his public statement on disloyalty towards the state violated the Education Law which says that a teacher should educate patriots of Latvia. Mrs Juhnevica also stated that the SSEQ only recommended the school director to dismiss the teacher and to check all other school teachers for correspondence with the law and will not follow implementation of recommendations by the director.

Head of the Saeima’s sub-committee on elaboration of draft amendments to the Citizenship Law Ingmars Caklais in an interview with Chas asserts that a legal norm which stipulates that parents non-citizens registering their child as citizen of Latvia have to sign a paper promising to give the child patriotic education is not new and it already exists in the law. The majority of the MPs working in the subcommittee did not agree to take this norm out of the law. Mr Caklais considers that such requirement is symbolic approval of attitude towards the state. According to Mr Caklais the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law might be approved by 18 November – the Latvia’s Independence Day. Chas

Yours sincerely,
Integration Monitor