• Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs does not support referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens
• Ombudsman: European grants aimed at Roma integration in Latvia were spent ineffectively

Vesti Segodnya prints an article by the Mayor of Riga Nils Usakovs (the Concord Centre) about his position regarding problem of non-citizenship in Latvia and possible forthcoming referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens. Mr Usakovs believes that the decision to divide Latvian residents into citizens and non-citizens in the beginning of 90’s was the biggest mistake of Latvia. Despite that issue of non-citizenship is very personal for Nils Usakovs, as he is ex-non-citizen, he does not support the referendum on granting citizenship to non- citizens automatically because it is doomed to failure. Mr Usakovs believes the referendum would again incite ethnic tensions in the context of up-coming municipal elections and parties will stress ethnic issues in their campaigns in order to take attention away from the real important problems. Mr Usakovs states he will not take part in the collection of signatures and in the referendum if it is held.

According to a conclusion of the Ombudsman, European grants aimed at promotion of Roma social integration in Latvia allocated from 2007 to 2012 were spent ineffectively and impractically. The Ombudsman made such conclusion by checking the documentation of all the projects which received the EU funding for Roma integration. Vesti Segodnya

• Vladimirs Lindermans: we will push the Concord Centre to support the referendum on non-citizens
• Chas interviews political scientist Andrejs Berdnikovs

According to a representative of the Concord Centre (CC) Alfreds Rubiks interviewed by Diena, the CC does not support the referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens. If the referendum is conducted its result will be negative and the European institutions will say that it is a proof that the residents have made their decision and are against granting citizenship to non-citizens, believes Mr Rubiks. Another member of the CC, MP Andrejs Klementjevs says that this issue has not been discussed yet at the party’s board and in the Saeima’s faction, but believes such issue should be solved better in the Saeima. One of the initiators of the collection of signatures for support of the referendum on the status of Russian language, leader of a political party “For Native Language” Vladimirs Lindermans, in his turn, in interview with the newspaper says that everything will be done in order to push the Concord Centre to support the referendum. Diena

A political scientist Andrejs Berdnikovs believes the integration based on common values cannot be implemented in Latvia. Mr Berdnikovs believes the political nation should have common civil initiatives, political values instead of ethnic and cultural factors. Mr Berdnikovs says that according to his experience ethnic issues always come to the front stage in Latvia but social-economical, anti-corruption, and legal issues are less interesting for people. As reported, Andrejs Berdnikovs is ex-advisor of the Minister of Culture on integration issues and recently became a member of a political party “For Native Langauge” which initiated referendum on granting Russian language status of a state language in Latvia. Chas

• Nationalists’ union blames coalition partners for lost chance to stop the possible forthcoming referendum on citizenship

Leader of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM Raivis Dzintars stated there was a possibility to prevent the possible forthcoming referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens blaming the Unity and the Reform Party for inaction. According to Raivis Dzintars, when the beginning of the collection of signatures in support of referendum on citizenship was announced, the nationalists’ union proposed to amend the Constitution of Latvia aimed at prohibiting the initiation of draft amendments trough referenda on issues that undermine the foundation of the state including the amendments to the Citizenship Law. Mr Dzintars is convinced if the outcome of the referendum on citizenship is successful it will mean the end of Latvia’s independence as according to him Latvia will be ruled by a Kremlin backed party. The Speaker of the Saeima Solvita Aboltina (Unity), in her turn, stated that politicians should first hear the opinion of the Presidential Commission on Constitutional Law and that the amendments drafted by the nationalist union were of poor quality. Vesti Segodnya, Chas

• Saeima’s Legal Committee approves draft amendments to the Citizenship Law
• Central Election Committee to check whether the draft amendments on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens have been properly elaborated and do not contravene the Latvian Constitution
• Student from Georgia establishes an international integration students’ alliance in Latvia

Yesterday, the Saeima Legal Committee approved the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law elaborated by the Sub-Commission on Citizenship Law Amendments. According to the draft amendments, dual citizenship can be granted or retained by  Latvian citizens who received also the citizenship of EU, EFTA, or NATO Member States. Latvian citizenship can also be granted to Latvian exiles and their descendants who left Latvia as refugees or were deported during the Soviet and Nazi occupation and did not return to Latvia for permanent residence. The draft amendments stipulate the granting of Latvian citizenship to children one of whose parents is Latvian citizen regardless of the child’s country of birth. The amendments foresee that children of non-citizens born after 21 August 1991 [but no retroactively] can be registered as Latvian citizens if one of the parents expresses their will for it and vows to help the child learn the Latvian language and instill respect and loyalty towards the state. The draft amendments also stipulate that if a citizenship applicant is a threat to national security, public order or values written in the Constitution, is against Latvia’s independence, democratic parliamentary system, or expresses ideas of communism, fascism, chauvinism, national-socialism or other totalitarian ideas inciting ethnic hatred after 4 May 1990 (restoration of state independence), he or she is not eligible for Latvian citizenship. The Saeima will review the amendments in the second reading on 6 September. It is foreseen that the amendments will come into force on 1 January 2013. Chas, Latvijas Avize

The Central Election Committee (CEC) is planning not only to check the validity of signatures collected in support of the referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens but also to check whether the draft amendments to the Citizenship Law have been  properly elaborated as required by law and do not contravene the Latvian Constitution. Authors of the initiative are planning to submit 10,000 collected signatures and the draft amendments to the CEC in the coming days. Chas, Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya interviews a student from Georgia studying in Latvia who has set up an international integration students’ alliance in Latvia. The alliance unites students from different higher education establishments with an aim to help them be integrated in the Latvian society.

• Unity wants to prevent referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens
• LVL 740,000 are to be allocated to the activities on consolidation of the society in 2013
• Representative of the Belorussians’ Community in Latvia: legal equality of citizens should lay in the foundation of the consolidated society
• Latvijas Avize reports about the conference of Russian compatriots in Riga
• Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks is insulted by 9 May celebration in Riga

The political party Unity considers that the draft amendments to Citizenship Law on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens are anti-constitutional and should not be allowed to pass to the referendum. According to a representative of the Unity, the draft amendments endanger the principle of continuity of Latvian state and contradict the Constitution of Latvia. As reported, the movement “For Equal Rights” collected required number of signatures for initiation of state funded collection of signatures in support of referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens. Chas

Vesti Segodnya reports that the Ministry of Finance is planning to allocate LVL 740,000 (about EUR 1,000,000) to the activities on consolidation of the society in 2013 and LVL 769,000 (about EUR 1,105,000) in 2014 for the same purpose.

Representative of the Belorussians’ Community in Latvia, MP Jelena Jelizarova believes that legal equality of citizens should lay in the foundation of the consolidated society in Latvia. However, the state policy became oriented on establishment of national state instead of multicultural society and decreased support to ethnic cultural NGOs. Thus, such NGOs in future might be forced to stop their activities. Vesti Segodnya

Latvijas Avize reports about the conference of Russian compatriots named “Equal rights - the main precondition for preservation of Russian world in Latvia” held in Riga. Participants of the conference mainly discussed non-citizenship in Latvia and collection of signatures for support of the referendum on granting Latvian citizenship to non-citizens. Latvijas Avize criticizes the statements made by conference’s participants and claims these statements are false and insulting to Latvian state.

The Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks in an interview with Neatkariga states that celebration of 9 May (or so-called Victory day) in Riga insults also him personally. Mr Pabriks believes that the majority of people who come to the celebration do not come with an aim to commemorate victims of the WWII but in order to maintain Latvia in the geopolitical field which stopped to exist in the beginning of 90’s. The Minister would be happy if the same people would come to the celebrations of the Latvian Independence Day on 11 November with the same enthusiasm.