• Nationalists’ party All for Latvia/FF-LNIM conducts an event commemorating warriors who helped to liberate Limbazi from the Red Army on 4 July 1941

Vesti Segodnya reports that the Limbazi (town in the northern part of Latvia) branch of the nationalists’ party All for Latvia/FF-LNIM called town’s residents to take part in an event commemorating warriors who helped to liberate Limbazi from the Red Army on 4 July 1941. The newspaper notes that on this day the Nazi troops entered the town and later arrested and murdered “unreliable” residents and Jews. None of local Jews survived in the town. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre criticizes such event in Limbazi, especially knowing that it is held on 4 July – the official commemoration day of the Holocaust victims in Latvia.

• Neatkariga prints an article about Roma classes in Ventspils
• Saeima’s Education and Science Committee refused the nationalists’ repeated proposal on transition of education in all municipal kindergartens into Latvian language
• 96 ethnic minority collectives take part in Latvian Nation-wide Song and Dance Celebration

Neatkariga prints an article about Roma classes in Ventspils (city in the north-western part of Latvia). The Ombudsman demands for closure of ethnic Roma segregating classes in Ventspils night secondary school as those hinder inclusion of Roma children in the society. However, the Education Board of Ventspils opposes closure of Roma classes and inclusion of Roma children in general classes arguing that thus Roma will not attend the school at all. Also parents of Roma children consider that it is easier for their children to attend special Roma classes because, thus, they do not get offended by other non-Roma children. According to a social worker from Sabile (town in the western part of Latvia which also has a high number of Roma residents), the town has closed Roma classes and now Roma children are studying together with ethnic Latvian children and there are no big problems. In total, 790 Roma children attended schools in 2012/2013, including 124 Roma in Ventspils.

The Saeima’s Education and Science Committee refused the repeated proposal of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!-FF/LNIM on transition of education in all municipal kindergartens into Latvian language only starting with 1 September 2015. As reported, the Saeima recently refused the identical proposal of the nationalists with the only difference that the reform was planned to begin on 1 September 2014. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya prints an article about ethnic minority collectives taking part in the Latvian Nation-wide Song and Dance Celebration. In total, 96 ethnic minority collectives are taking part in the Celebration and today (3 July) perform in one of the Riga central parks.

• Historian Edvins Snore: celebration of 9 May in Latvia is immoral

Neatkariga prints an interview with a historian, author of a documentary “Soviet Story” Edvins Snore. Mr Snore believes that it is very important to understand that Nazi and Stalins’s regimes were equal. Mr Snore believes that Western Europe does not acknowledge the equality between the two regimes because it has not suffered from communist crimes as much as Eastern Europe. Speaking about celebration of 9 May or Victory Day in Latvia, Mr Snore states that such celebration is immoral and is celebrated by USSR colonists and their descendants and USSR military persons with families who stayed in Latvia. According to Mr Snore, the Monument to the Soviet Liberators of Riga from Nazi Invaders should be demolished as it glorifies destruction of the state and hinders Latvia’s development

• Social Services Agency implements a project providing support to third-country nationals and their families
• Procession “Steps of Alive” commemorating victims of Holocaust held in Riga

 The Social Services Agency implements a project providing support to third-country nationals and their families. According to representatives of the Agency, foreigners who arrive to Latvia often face psychological discomfort and need to get accustomed to climatic, social and mutual relations environment. As language is one of the most important factors for inclusion in the society, for Russian speaking immigrants it is much easier to integrate and communicate with local residents. While, for people from further countries who might look different or have different skin colour the problems are more pronounced as they face various stereotypes. Neatkariga

Vesti Segodnya reports about a traditional procession “Steps of Alive” commemorating victims of Holocaust in Latvia. The procession was conducted on the streets where the Nazis organised Riga Ghetto. Members of Jewish community, Latvian high officials and representatives of foreign embassies took part in the procession. In total, during the years of Nazi occupation, more than 80,000 Jews got killed in Latvia, including Jews from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Hungary.

• Aleksandrs Gaponenko explains principles of the calculation of damage caused to people who were granted status of non-citizens in Latvia

Vesti Segodnya prints an interview with a representative of the Parliament of Unrepresented Aleksandrs Gaponenko - initiator of the calculation of damage caused to people who were granted status of non-citizens in Latvia. According to Mr Gaponenko, the damage will be counted taking into consideration all areas in which non-citizens got deprived of rights. For instance, financial damage from deprivation of privatisation certificates in 90’s (non-citizens received less certificates than citizens); spent amount of taxis paid by both citizens and non-citizens on parliamentary and local deputies taking into consideration that non-citizens do not have voting rights; unequal counting of pensions to non-citizens; prohibition to occupy certain posts in the public sector by non-citizens; also too high state language requirements for some professions. Mr Gaponenko believes that the existing Latvian political regime reminds of national-socialistic regime which splits the residents on “Aryans” and “non-Aryans”.