• Vesti Segodnya interviews the ex-President of Latvia, current leader of the Reforms Party Valdis Zatlers

Vesti Segodnya interviews the ex-President of Latvia, current leader of the Reforms Party Valdis Zatlers who is planning to leave the post of the party’s leader in the up-coming party’s congress. Mr Zatlers asserts that for the Reforms Party ethnic factor is not a weapon of ideological battle. However, the society does not hurry to support such parties because it does not believe that it is possible, believes Mr Zatlers. Mr Zatlers also believes that Russian speaking residents get engaged in politics less that ethnic Latvians. 

• Administrative court reviews one more case on Latvianisation of personal name

 Latvijas Avize reports about a court case in which parents of a child are complaining about Latvianisation of the child’s name. The child was born in Germany and registered there as Hugo Mark, yet in Latvia, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs registered the child as Latvian citizen adding Latvian ending –s to the name – Marks. Parents appealed such decision in the Administrative Court. Newspaper notes that in 2008, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in a similar case that if the EU citizen was born in one of the EU states and his/her name was registered in the registry of acts of civil status in the birth country, including birth certificate, according to the country’s legal rules, than the name of the person should be acknowledged in all others EU member countries, including the country of citizenship.

• Persons with dual citizenship most likely will be restricted of access to the state secrets
• Security Police refused to initiate a criminal proceeding regarding the elections to the Parliament of Unrepresented

 According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics, there will be restrictions for persons with dual citizenship to occupy certain posts, especially those which are relevant to the work with the state secrets. The Minister says that the relevant amendments to the Rules of the Cabinet of Ministers are to be prepared and the issue should be solved by 1 October 2013. As reported, in May, the Saeima adopted the amendments to the Citizenship Law, which also allow 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. Vesti Segodnya

The Security Police refused to initiate criminal proceedings regarding the elections to the Parliament of Unrepresented conducted by the Congress of Non-Citizens as there are no components of the crime. The appeal to the Security Police and to the Constitution Protection Bureau was submitted by the leader of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM Raivis Dzintars asking to check whether the alternative elections of the Congress of Non-Citizens are the attempt of the state coupe. Vesti Segodnya  

• Vesti Segodnya publishes article about the 10 years of the Union of Latvia's Byelorussians

 

Vesti Segodnya publishes article about the 10 years of the Union of Latvia's Byelorussians. The Union brings together 14 Byelorussian societies of various Latvia's cities. The most prominent recent activities of the Union include: the publication of Byelorussian-Latvian/Latvian-Byelorussian dictionary (40,000 words), organisation of roundtables on the life of Byelorussian diasporas and the strengthening of ties between the Baltic states and the Republic of Byelorussia, organisation of annual days of Byelorussian culture, organisation of conference on the role of Byelorussian NGOs in the strengthening of civil society in Latvia. The author of the article is critical of the government funding priorities, whereby national culture societies (such as the Union) receive significantly less attention than the re-emigration programmes. The author highlights that the Union strengthens national identity, promotes tolerance, and reinforces the ties between various generations and the sense of belonging to Latvia. 

• MEP from Latvia Krisjanis Karins: education should be in Latvian language only
• Saeima’s Committee condemned the MP Irina Cvetkova for her statements regarding neo-Nazism in Latvia
• High officials took part in the commemorative events on the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust victims in Latvia

 The MEP from Latvia Krisjanis Karins stated that the existing bilingual education system in Latvia facilitates split in the society as there is no common comprehension about culture and state’s history among Russian speaking and ethnic Latvian young people. Therefore, Mr Karins stated that state funded education should be in Latvian language only and ethnic Latvian and minority children should study together. Vesti Segodnya

 The Saeima’s Committee Ethics, Mandates and Submissions issued a written warning to the MP Irina Cvetkova (Concord Centre) for her statements regarding neo-Nazism in Latvia. Speaking at the international conference in the USA, Mrs Cvetkova criticized Latvian government for the adopted legal provisions on dual citizenship regarding the fact that dual citizenship is allowed only with certain countries and for prohibition to use Soviet symbolic. Mrs Cvetkova stated that adoption of such legal norms speaks about manifestations of neo-Nazism in Latvia. Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

Yesterday, Jewish community, Latvian high officials, representatives of foreign embassies and others took part in the commemorative events on the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust victims in Latvia. The Israeli Ambassador Hagit Ben-Yaakov called the local governments in Latvian cities and regions not to tolerate manifestations of anti-Semitism and Xenophobia and to pay special attention to education of young people.  Vesti Segodnya