• MEP from Latvia Aleksandrs Mirskis will have to pay the nationalists’ union’s MPs moral compensation for calling them “Nazis”
• Saeima’s Committee refused to recognise that the MPs Raivis Dzintars and Janis Dombrava violated the deputy’s code of ethics by their actions on 16 March
• MPs discussed differences in the attitude of Latvian residents towards the WWII events
• Interview with the head of the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council Eizenija Aldermane

The Riga Regional Court partially satisfied a claim of the leaders of the Nationalists’ Union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM, MPs Gaidis Berzins and Raivis Dzintars against the MEP from Latvia Aleksandrs Mirskis. The Court ruled the MEP Mirskis to pay both MPs LVL 1,000 as a moral compensation. The MPs complained on the MEP Mirskis for his statement made at the European Parliament calling them “Nazis” Diena

The Saeima’s Committee on Mandate, Ethics and Submissions refused to recognise that the leaders of the Nationalists’ Union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM Raivis Dzintars and Janis Dombrava violated the deputy’s code of ethics by their actions on 16 March (unofficial commemoration day of Latvian Waffen SS legionnaires.) The complaint about the MPs’ actions was submitted by the MP Nikolajs Kabanovs (Concord Centre). As reported, during the procession of legionnaires, the two mentioned MPs got involved in a conflict with the protestors against the procession and police officers; the MPs tried to tear the protesters’ installations and turn off loudspeakers. The member of the Committee who did not support the opinion that the MPs violated the code of ethnics argued they did it because they are young and they have already apologised to police officers, while the protest action was a sacrilege towards the members of the processions. Latvijas Avize

 

The Saeima’s Society Consolidation Committee discussed differences in the attitude of Latvian residents towards the WWII events and how to overcome the conflicting views in this area. According to researchers for the Riga Stradins University, analysis of the internet comments shows that the peak of aggressive comments every year occurs in the middle of March and is connected with controversial date – 16 March events when the differences in comprehension about the history is the most visible. According to the mass media expert Anda Rozukalne, the biggest responsibility lays on politicians who make statements increasing confrontation and on journalists who distribute these statements. Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya interviews the head of the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council Eizenija Aldermane (ex-head of the Naturalisation Board.) According to Mrs Aldermane, for many years the state had no clear integration policy but the integration program elaborated by the ex-Minister of Culture Sarmite Elerte is based on national and language issues. The Riga City Council, in its turn, has wider approach to integration viewing this process as sense of belonging of every resident to the city and the state, says Mr Aldermane. The task of the Riga Council is to ensure representatives of various ethnicities, social status, people with disabilities, and of different age to be able to use the city’s infrastructure, take part in the work of NGOs and city’s activities. Mr Aldermane also notes that Riga was the first municipality who granted funding for free-of-charge Latvian language learning courses which are highly demanded among the residents.

• Co-chairman of the Latvian Anti-Fascists’ Committee: Latvia is typical failed state which reminds of a cancer

Vesti Segodnya prints an interview with the co-chairman of the Latvian Anti-Fascists’ Committee, activist of the Congress of Non-citizens Eduards Goncarovs. According to Mr Goncarovs he is a convinced non-citizen and sees the existing Latvian government as a “neo-Nazi nightmare.” He alleges the ideology of modern Latvia was shaped by those who departed from Latvia in 1945 together with departing Fascists and their descendants, who were raised in hatred towards ethnic Russians. Mr Goncarovs states that Latvia is typical failed state which reminds of a cancer which consumes the resources yet is not able to ensure development of the country. He believes it is in the best interests of Latvia that non-citizens accept Latvian citizenship, because this would rectify the historic mistake and restore the stolen rights. Mr Goncarovs sees nothing extreme or illegitimate in their demands and maintains that these demands are in line with European norms and do not violate the rights of other people in Latvia, such as grant Russian language status of a state language in Latvia, ensure Russian children the right to study in native language, and grant Latvian citizenship to Latvian non-citizens willing to accept it. He points out that Latvia ignore international recommendations to grant voting rights in municipal elections to Latvian non-citizens and claims that the authorities are only trying to fulfil recommendations when people in Latvia are making mass-scale protests.

• Neatkariga prints an interview with a host of a TV show “Un-censored” Andrejs Mamikins

Neatkariga prints an interview with a host of a TV show “Un-censored” Andrejs Mamikins (discussion TV show aired until 1 April 2013 on TV5 when the channel’s administration decided to break to an agreement with Mr Mamikins.) Looking at society integration after the referendum on status of Russian language conducted in February 2012, Mr Mamikins believes that in general nothing has changed during the past year. According to Mamikins, the changes occurred only at the governmental level as some responsible institutions received funding for promotion of integration. For instance, he mentioned the controversial National Integration Centre established by the Ministry of Culture as a specific project with an aim to integrate 300 third-country nationals for LVL 430,000 (EUR 600,000).

• Vesti Segodnya reports about Vladimirs Buzajevs’ research “Legal Situation of Russian Speaking Minority in Latvia”
• MP Valerijs Agesins repeatedly received threatening e-mail from extremist organisation “Tautas Tribunals”
• Latgalian activist highlights the problems and advocates autonomy for Latgale

Vesti Segodnya reports about a research “Legal Situation of Russian Speaking Minority in Latvia” conducted by the ex-MP Vladimirs Buzajevs. According Mr Buzajevs, the research proves that the situation of Russian speakers during the past 22 years has substantially worsened.  Mr Buzajevs analysed data concerning demography, language, education, culture, citizenship and social-economical area. Thus, Mr Buzajevs believes there is a policy of "squeezing out" the representatives of national minorities, because the total population losses among national minorities are five times bigger than the population losses among ethnic Latvians. According to Mr Buzajevs, ethnic minorities comparing with ethnic Latvian more often face unemployment (especially long-term) and have lower salaries (on average 8%). Also, according to Mr Buzajevs, legal discrimination reduced the pensions of 1/3 of ethnic minority pensioners, resulting in the total loss of 140 mln Lats (200 mln Euros).

The MP Valerijs Agesins repeatedly received an insulting and threatening e-mail from the extremist organisation “Tautas Tribunals” (People’s Tribunal – in English). Like the previous e-mail this one also contains Russophobic epithets and threats to life addressed personally to Mr Agesins. As reported, couple of weeks ago all the MPs received e-mail from “Tautas Tribunals” with insulting statements to a number of politicians, many Russophobic and anti-Semitic epithets and, in particularly, abusive to Mr Agesins. In both cases, the MP turned to the Security Police asking to initiate a criminal proceeding on incitement to ethnic hatred and threats to life of a state official. Vesti Segodnya

In an interview with Vesti-Segodnya, Latgalian activist highlighted some problems facing Latgale (region in eastern Latvia) – unemployment, disruption of economic ties across the border, depopulation, unfair distribution of investment, denial of Latgalian language in schools and administration. He advocates for autonomy of the region.

• MP Janis Upenieks: state institutions should publish IP addresses of internet users who incite ethnic hatred
• Neatkariga: rectors of some higher education establishments have insufficient state language proficiency

The MP Janis Upenieks (Free Democrats) stated that the state institutions should publish IP addresses of internet users who incite ethnic hatred. Mr Upeniekes stated that there are many insulting and anti-national expressions which are inadmissible in public space. According to Mr Upenieks: “reading comments on the Internet, especially on Russian language portals, I have unpleasant feeling that authors of such comments most likely live in Latvia.” Vesti Segodnya

According to Neatkariga, despite the fact that the academic personnel of the Latvian higher education establishments are required to be proficient in Latvian language to the highest level of proficiency, some of the foreign rectors still are not as proficient in Latvian as required. There are two private higher education establishments headed by the foreign rectors with insufficient state language proficiency level, however, no sanctions are applied to them. According to the head of the control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis, study process in these education establishments is conducted mostly in English and the majority of students are foreigners, so damage caused to the interests of Latvian language is comparatively small, and besides that, there are regulations which permit such situation. Representatives of the mentioned higher education establishments explained that the rectors promised to learn the language and take private lessons to learn it but so far they use interpreters when needed. Neatkariga also reports that the Ministry of Education and Science is currently developing the draft law easing the requirement for state language proficiency for foreign academic personnel.