• Riga City Council banned the events planned by an organisation “GVD Baltija”

Yesterday, following recommendation of the Security Police, the Riga City Council banned the events planned by an organisation “GVD Baltija” in Riga. As reported, “GVD Baltija” placed in a Riga district a humanitarian aid tent decorated with flags of so-called “Novorossiya” and “Donetsk people’s republic” collecting aid allegedly for civilians in conflict zones in Eastern Ukraine However, the SP evaluated such event as a potential risk towards state’s constitutional order and society security interests. According to Latvijas Avize, the organisers are suspected in collecting aid not for civilians but for armed groups. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya

• Newspapers report about three persons from Latvia taking part in the military action in the Eastern Ukraine
• Protest action “Remember Odessa” held in Riga
• Facebook.com blocked photos of a young woman from Latvia dressed in Nazi uniform

The newspapers report about videos placed on the Internet by three men from Latvia taking part in military action in the Eastern Ukraine on the side of Lugansk’s people’s militia. These men say that they are from Latvian town Ludza (town in the eastern part of Latvia) and explain why they decided to join separatists. They call themselves Russian patriots and appeal to Latvian men to go to Donbas and fight against Ukrainian militaries. According to Latvijas Avize, the Security Police (SP) yesterday initiated criminal proceedings against these persons arguing that such calls can be qualified as public call for terrorism. The SP also asks residents to report information about Latvian residents who take parts in the military actions in Ukraine, or expressed desire to do it, or who distributes calls to join illegal armed groups. According to the information provided to Vesti Segodnya by a leader of the party For Native Language Vladimirs Lindermans, on 1 September, management of the 2nd Ludza secondary school hold a conversation with students about those men on the video as they are graduates of this school. V. Lindermans criticizes the school for reproaching these men in lack of conscience and says “we should be proud of them as they went to defend a city that is being destroyed by barbarians.” V. Lindermans also says that the number of militiamen from Latvia has grown during last couple days and it will grow more. Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

Yesterday, 50 to 100 people took part in a protest action in Riga called “Remember Odessa” in memory of the May 2 tragedy in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, in which nearly 50 anti-government activists were burned alive in a trade union house. The action was organised by the party Russian Union in Latvia joining anti-fascists’ action across Europe. The aim of the action in Riga was to say no to violence, to support peace in Ukraine, and call for investigation of the tragedy in Odessa and punishment of the perpetrators.  Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

Vesti Segodnya continues to report about young woman who posts on her profiles in different social networks the photos of herself dressed in Nazi uniform and with swastika on the sleeve. According to the newspaper, following a complaint about such photos administration of Facebook.com blocked such photos. However, other social networks have not reacted.

 

• Aizkraukle Regional Council transferred 10th grade of Aizkraukle Russian language school to the premises of town’s Latvian language gymnasium
• Latvijas Avize reports about collection of humanitarian aid in Riga for civilians in conflict zones in Eastern Ukraine
• Protest action and concert “For Russian School” planned to be held in Riga on 4 September

Vesti Segodnya reports about a decision of the Aizkraukle (town in the central part of Latvia) Regional Council to transfer 10th grade of Aizkraukle Russian language school to the premises of town’s Latvian language gymnasium. The decision was taken three days before the beginning of the school year and it is ostensibly justified by insufficient number of students for opening of 10th grade. Only 15 students signed for 10th grade of the Russian language school instead of 20 required by the legal provisions of the regional council. Parents of students do not agree to such decision and are planning to take measures against it. Earlier, the newspaper also reported about the plans of the regional council to merge Russian language school with Latvian but later cancelled these plans.

Latvijas Avize reports about collection of humanitarian aid in Riga for civilians in conflict zones in Eastern Ukraine. The humanitarian aid tent was decorated with flags of so-called “Novorossiya” and “Donetsk people’s republic” and its organiser was an organisation “Baltija.” The organiser plans to move the tent to different Riga’s districts and the city centre. Placement of the tent was approved by the Riga City Council as an event aimed at communication with people about Latvia’s development and economics. According to a representative of the City Council there were no reasons to ban such event as there were no any recommendations from the Security Police.

The political party “Russian Union in Latvia” and the Congress of Non-citizens are planning to conduct a protest action and concert “For Russian School” on 4 September in the centre of Riga. Vesti Segodnya

 

• Latvijas Avize interviews head of the language control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis
• Security Police will check statements made by a Latvia writer Antons Rancans on incitement to ethnic hated
• Diena reports about the government’s plans to transfer 80% of education content education in ethnic minority schools into Latvian language

Latvijas Avize interviews head of the language control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis who also stands for the Parliamentary elections from the list of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM. If Mr Kursitis is elected to the Saeima he would persuade other MPs that Latvian government should be decentralised relocating ministries from Riga to other Latvian regions. Otherwise, Latvia can return to those days when the majority of employees in state institutions are Russian speakers as there are 60% of Russian speaking residents in Riga – says Kursitis. He also says that it is very important to stop emigration of ethnic Latvian young people who are not proficient in Russian. As one of the measures for it, Kursitis mentions imposition of administrative punishment for those employers who require Russian language proficiency disproportionately and unreasonably.  Antons Kursitis also considers that program on issuing residence permits to foreign investors should be halted as those people (foreign investors who receive residence permits) give nothing to Latvia just helping the banks and real estate traders to earn and worsening state language situation in Riga and Jurmala as majority of them are Russian speakers.

Following a complaint of a member of the Congress of Non-citizens Jelena Bacinska, the Security Police will check statements made by a Latvia writer Antons Rancans on incitement to ethnic hated. In his recent interview with newspaper Neatkariga, Antons Rancans said that there is a robbers’ gene in mentality of Russians and that they were created not for work but for robbery. Vesti Segodnya

Diena reports about the government’s plans to transfer 80% of education content in ethnic minority schools into Latvian language. According to the newspaper, such announcement made defenders of ethnic minority schools to speak about closure Russian schools. However, the Ministry of Education and Science asserts that ethnic minority schools will remain but the proportion of Latvian language will grow up to 80% starting with 2018. The Ministry also says that already now schools can use model of bilingual education 80/20%, however only 5% of schools use it. The Ministry plans to understand during this school year how to increase the language proportion in all ethnic minority schools. One of the activists for defence of Russian language schools Jakovs Pliners believes that planned changes would negatively impact education quality and students’ achievements.

• State Language Centre initiated an administrative violation procedure about a poster in Ukrainian language
• Latvian writer Marina Kostenecka: ethnic Latvians should stop treating national minorities as Guinea pigs making experiments on them
• Latvijas Avize reports about a project on integration of third country nationals

The State Language Centre (SLC) initiated an administrative violation procedure about a poster with a text in Ukrainian language hanged on a building of the Salaspils library. The library hosted a delegation from Ukraine and hanged out a poster with a text in Ukrainian “Sincerely welcome to our Ukrainian friends on the Latvian land.” An unknown person submitted a complaint to the SLC about possible violation of the State Language Law in official communication by state institutions. Head of the Salaspils Region Council does not agree that hanging of such poster is violation and is ready to hang it out again if another Ukrainian delegation comes. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya quotes a well known Latvian writer Marina Kostenecka who says that ethnic Latvians should stop treating national minorities as Guinea pigs, on whom one could experiment by poisoning them with ethnic hatred and then testing their loyalty. Mrs Kostenecka also says “when I saw that 65% of ethnic minorities still consider themselves as patriots of Latvia (data from a survey of Latvia’s ethnic minorities “Sense of Belonging to Latvia”) I was not just surprised. I understood that even if a person does not sing Latvian folk songs, it does not mean he or she is an enemy of Latvia.”

Latvijas Avize reports about a project on integration of third country nationals in Latvia conducted by a youth creative union “Trepes.” In the framework of the project 68 foreign citizens took part in an informal training about life in Latvia – Latvian values, history, symbols, traditions, etc. According to one of the project organisers, for other country nationals it is important that they are not perceived as immigrants but they also want to feel important and as personalities.