• The Jurmala City Council established the Committee on Integration Affairs and the Society Integration Department of the Welfare Board

The Jurmala City Council established the Committee on Integration Affairs and the Society Integration Department of the Welfare Board. Five deputies from the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Concord Centre will work in the new Committee. According to one of the new Committee’s members Boriss Donnikovs, working in the Committee he wants to promote consolidation of WWII war veterans who fought on the opposite sides, involving in the dialogue representatives of the nationalistic union and religious confessions. The Society Integration Department will work on strategic planning and elaboration of local legal provisions in integration field, coordinate voluntary work, support NGOs, ensure opportunities for state language learning, support ethnic minority initiatives, and etc. Diena

• Minister of Education Ina Druviete: in national minority schools, physics, chemistry, and maths would be taught in Latvian
• Russia’s TV channel is back on air after the three-month ban for distribution of war propaganda

Vesti Segodnya interviews the Minister of Education Ina Druviete. According to the Minister, a serious preparatory works has to be done for introduction of a language reform in ethnic minority schools scheduled for 2018. The Minister says that subjects connected to ethnic identity will continue to be taught in Russian in Russian language schools. Such subjects are: history, literature, history of culture, and geography. Physics, chemistry, and maths in minority schools will be taught in Latvian language. The Minister does not agree that such emphasis on the state language could harm the quality of education content and says that language is only a tool for education. Mrs Druviete says that the Ministry has a specific plan for arrangement of courses for teachers on improvement of Latvian language proficiency and mastering different methods of teaching subjects in Latvian.

Russia’s TV channel “Rossija RTR” banned for distribution of Russia’s war propaganda for three months is back on air in Latvia. Commenting the case, the MEP from Latvia, ex-Minister of Defence Artic Pabriks says that the cable TV operators should be responsible for the information they distribute – they can distribute free and alternative information but not lies. At the same time, Mr Pabriks believes that the ban of TV channels is not the best way to achieve the desired results and it is rather important to develop qualitative media content for Russian speaking residents. Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga

• President of Latvia Andris Berzins proclaimed the Introduction or Preamble to the Constitution of Latvia
• Ex-Head of the Constitution Protection Bureau Janis Kazocins: despite all, integration slowly goes forward

Yesterday, the President of Latvia Andris Berzins proclaimed the Introduction or Preamble to the Constitution of Latvia. Commenting the adoption of the Preamble, the MP Boriss Cilevics (Concord Centre) said that everyone understands that it is a tool for internal usage for crackdown and that the Preamble spoiled Latvia’s reputation on an international political arena. As reported, the Saeima adopted the Introduction to the Constitution which says that establishment of Latvian state was based upon the irrevocable will of the ethnic Latvian nation in order to guarantee existence and development of Latvian language, and culture through centuries.  Vesti Segodnya, Latvijas Avize

Latvijas Avize interviews ex-Head of the Constitution Protection Bureau Janis Kazocins. Speaking about Russia’s policy on protecting its compatriots abroad, Mr Kazocins says that Russia may use Russian speaking residents of Latvia and non-citizens for its interests. At the same time, Mr Kazocins stresses that there are positive tendencies about the decrease of the number of non-citizens in Latvia.  Thus, the number of non-citizens has substantially decreased since 1995 (from 29% down to 13%) and almost half of them are older than 60 years. He also mentions that during the 2013, 89% of children born in the families of non-citizens were registered as Latvian citizens. Mr Kazocins believes that despite all, integration slowly goes forward and Russian speaking residents of Latvia have no interest to be liberated by Russia from "the yoke of the EU and Mr. Usakovs". Mr. Kazocins believes those 300,000 Latvian citizens who voted in favour of Russian as a second state language are not necessarily disloyal towards Latvia. There should be no censorship of the media and if TV channels from Russia broadcast propaganda, this should be countered by local media to uncover the truth.

• Commemorative events held in Riga on the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust victims in Latvia
• Latvian Academy of Music decided to conduct an admission test for one of the applicants on Saturday after the sunset due to religious reasons
• Vesti Segodnya reports about a young woman who posts on her profile in different social networks photos dressed in Nazi uniform

Vesti Segodnya reports about commemorative events on the Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust victims in Latvia conducted on 4 July. The Jewish community “Shamir” for the fifth years conducted commemorative procession called “Steps of Alive”. High Latvian officials took part in a commemorative event near the Memorial to the Victims of Holocaust in Riga. Ex-prisoner of the Ghetto and Nazi concentration camps Margers Vestermanis who also attended the event said that only 545 people out of 73,000 of Jews who resided in Latvia survived the Holocaust. He also said that behind each of the 545 survivors stood people who risked their life to safe Jews. In Latvia there were about 200 who helped to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. The President Andris Berzins stressed that the genocide is a result of inferiority complex, prejudices and hate.

Vesti Segodnya reports that the Latvian Academy of Music following conclusion of the Ombudsman’s Office decided to conduct an admission test for one of the applicants on Saturday after the sunset.  The applicant – member of the community of the Seventh-day Adventists – asked the Academy to postpone his test scheduled on the day of Saturday for religious reasons. First, the Academy refused such request arguing that all the applicants must take the exam on one day, because otherwise, it would be give an advantage by providing more time for additional preparation. The applicant complained to the Ombudsman’s Office which requested the Academy to respect the right of the applicant for religious freedom.

Vesti Segodnya reports about a young woman who posts on her profile in different social networks photos dressed in Nazi uniform and with swastika on the sleeve. Her other posts on different social networks also show that she adhere Nazi ideology.

• Vesti Segodnya: graduate of a Russian language school was refused a post of cashier in a fast food restaurant

Vesti Segodnya reports about a case when a graduate of a Russian language school was refused a post of cashier in a fast food restaurant “Hesburger”, ostensibly because the result of his centralised state language exam was less than 50%. According to the applicant, the job interview was conducted in Latvian language and everything went well until the manager found that the applicant has graduated a Russian language school. After that the manager requested his state language proficiency certificate. Currently, graduates of all secondary schools (Latvian and Russian) pass exactly the same examination in state language, and therefore a separate language certificate is not available. After that, the manager requested the results of his secondary school centralised graduation exams, found out that the applicant scored 43% in the state language exam, announced that the cashier shall score at least 50% in school examination and thus refused the applicant. In an interview with the newspaper, the manager of “Hesburger” stated that the company introduced “internal regulations” which are not applied to graduates of majority schools. The newspaper notes that this cannot be viewed as just a test on Latvian language proficiency. The mother of the rejected applicant believes that such practice ensures that the graduates of majority schools get the job, while the graduates of minority schools who pass the same exams – do not get the job.