• President will proclaim draft amendments to the Citizenship Law
• Saeima supported in the second reading draft amendments forbidding usage of Soviet and Nazi symbolic

The President Andris Berzins will proclaim the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law on 20 May. According to the representatives of the President, he will also call the Saeima to pay special attention to the cases in which it is necessary to allow having dual citizenship for the group of persons who are not included by the current legal provisions.  As reported, the new amendments allows Latvian citizens to have dual citizenship with the EU member states, the European Free Trade Association, the NATO, Australia, Brazil, and New Zeeland, or countries which concluded treaties on recognition of dual citizenship with Latvia. Latvians living in other countries (such as Russia and Israel) can have dual citizenship only by special order of the Cabinet of Ministers. Diena

Yesterday, the Saeima supported in the second reading the draft amendments to the Law "On the Security of Public Entertainment and Festive Events” forbidding usage of the USSR and Nazi flags, blazons, anthems, uniform and other symbols during the public events. The draft amendments got criticized by the oppositional party Concord Centre arguing that those are aimed at equating Nazi and Soviet regimes. Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga

• All for Latvia!-FF/LNIM wants to forbid usage of Soviet and Nazi symbolic in all public events and places
• Days of Russian Culture starts in Latvia on 23 May

The nationalists’ union All for Latvia!-FF/LNIM submitted to the Saeima draft amendments to the Administrative Violations Code stipulating punishments for usage of Soviet and Nazi symbolic in all public events and places. As reported, the Saeima works on the draft amendments to the Law "On the Security of Public Entertainment and Festive Events” forbidding usage of the USSR and Nazi flags, blazons, anthems, uniform and other symbols during the public events with an aim to glorify the regimes or justify of the crimes committed by these regimes. However, the nationalists’ union considers that it is not enough to forbid the usage of symbolic only in public events but it should cover also all public space. According to the nationalists’ union, public space should be cleaned of totalitarian symbols as those are disrespectful and cynical towards victims of totalitarian regimes. Vesti Segodnya, news agency LETA

Days of Russian Culture starts in Latvia from 23 May to 7 June. About 140 events are scheduled for the festival in Riga and other Latvian cities and regions. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya

• Concord Centre asked the President of Latvia Andris Berzins not to proclaim the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law
• Ministry of the Environmental Protection and Regional Development withdrew its opinion about the Law on Higher Education Establishments
• MP Raivis Dzintars calls the Russia’s Ambassador to Latvia Aleksandr Veshnyakov to apologise for denial of occupation of Latvia

 The Saeima’s faction of the Concord Centre appealed to the President of Latvia Andris Berzins asking him not to proclaim the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law adopted by the Saeima. The Concord Centre considers that the legal provisions about dual citizenship divide the world countries into “right” and “wrong” and also discriminate Latvian citizens who reside in the countries which are not listed among the „right” ones. As reported, the new draft amendments allow Latvian citizens to have dual citizenship with countries members of the EU, the European Free Trade Association, the NATO or Australia, Brazil, and New Zeeland, or countries concluded treaties on recognition of dual citizenship with Latvia. Russia, CIS countries, and Israel are not included in this list despite relatively high number of Latvians residing there. Vesti Segodnya, Neatkariga, Latvijas Avize

The Ministry of the Environmental Protection and Regional Development withdrew its opinion about the Law on Higher Education Establishments about usage of foreign languages in the study process as it does not reflect the Minister’s and the Ministry’s management’s position. As reported, the opinion prepared by the officials of the Ministry contained the idea that usage of Russian language in the study process in universities and colleges would raise their competitiveness. However, the Minister and the State Secretary of the Ministry responding to the critics about such idea stated that they were not aware that it is included in the Ministry’s opinion about the draft law. Latvijas Avize

The leader of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!-FF/LNIM Raivis Dzintars calls the Russia’s Ambassador to Latvia Aleksandr Veshnyakov to apologise to the victims of Soviet occupation for his denial of the occupation of Latvia. In an interview to a local TV channel, the Ambassador stated: “there was no occupation of Latvia by the USSR, but there was liberation and victory over Nazi Germany.”  Vesti Segodnya

• Latvijas Avize: idea to allow to study in Russian language in state funded higher education establishments is still alive

Latvijas Avize reports that the idea to allow to usage of Russian language in study process in state funded higher education establishments is still alive. According to the newspaper, the Ministry of Education and Science elaborated draft amendments to the Law on Higher Education Establishments widening usage of only the EU official languages in the study process. But in the process of approval of the draft amendments, the Ministry of the Environmental Protection and Regional Development in its opinion mentioned that usage of Russian language in the study process in universities and colleges would raise their competitiveness. However, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Edmunds Sprudzs and the State Secretary of the Ministry Einars Cilinskis in an interview to the newspaper denied the fact that they support such idea and said they were not aware that it is included in the Ministry’s opinion about the draft law.

• Vesti Segodnya criticizes the Citizenship Law as it envisage that only ethnic Latvians and Lives belong to notion of a “state nation”
• Study: majority of non-citizens have accustomed to the fact that they are not Latvian citizens

Vesti Segodnya criticizes recently accepted draft amendments to the Citizenship Law as those envisage that only ethnic Latvians and Lives belong to notion of a “state nation.” According to the newspaper, such definition excludes representative of all other ethnicities residing in Latvia from the concept of state nation and divides citizens into two categories: the titular nationality and others. The newspaper also notes that the provisions about dual citizenship divide also ethnic Latvians living abroad into “right” and “wrong”, the “right” ones being only those ethnic Latvians who reside or received citizenship of countries members of the EU, the European Free Trade Association, the NATO or Australia, Brazil, and New Zeeland, or countries concluded treaties on recognition of dual citizenship with Latvia. Ethnic Latvians living in other countries can have dual citizenship only by special order of the Cabinet of Ministers.

According to a study “Opinion of the Third Country Nationals and Latvian Non-Citizens about Latvian Citizenship and Reasons which Promote or Hinder Adoption of Citizenship” conducted the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, majority of non-citizens have considered adoption of Latvian citizenship some time ago but later refused such idea for different reasons and got accustomed to the situation. Non-citizens indicated that they do not feel any sufficient inconvenience that they are not Latvian citizens. Neatkariga