• Article by the member of the Peoples Party Aigars Kimenis on ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
• Russian-language newspapers criticise amendments to the Radio and Television Law
• Problems faced by Romani children in the field of education in Jurmala
• Social educator of the Russian-language Riga Secondary School No.17 Tatjana Jegorova talks about effects of the education reform

Diena prints an article by the member of the Peoples Party Aigars Kimenis about possible pros and cons brought by ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Aigars Kimenis states that there is ‘absolutely no need to ratify the Convention and ratification without reservations would be ‘a catastrophe for our state and nation. According to the author, it would mean coming back to bilingualism in a large territory of Latvia and in some places also russification. He is convinced that in no circumstances the Convention should be ratified and notes that the ‘absolute majority of society but representatives of pro-Moscow wing do not support ratification. Thus, concludes the author, the only choice is ‘to put the Minority Convention on the furthest shelf.

Russian-language newspapers

Russian-language newspapers Vesti Segodnya and Telegraf print critical articles on the proposed amendments to the Radio and Television Law, submitted by the For Fatherland and Freedoms/LNIM parliamentary group. The proposed amendments stipulate that the Cabinet of Ministers has the right to set specific provisions concerning the usage of the language of broadcasting if the usage of the state language is endangered or restricted in the territory of a respective broadcaster. The Programme Director of the private TV Channel TV5 Gunta Lidaka believes that the amendments ignore the decision of the Constitutional Court of 5 June 2003. The Court ruled that the paragraph of the Law on Radio and Television, which provided that time of broadcast in foreign languages may not exceed 25% of total broadcasting time, did not correspond to the Constitution of Latvia and was abandoned.

Rigas Balss features an article about problems in education of Romani children in Jurmala. 28 Romani children of school age do not attend school for long periods of time, 10 have not been enrolled at any school and those 50 who are enrolled at various Jurmalas schools skip classes on regular basis. The Head of Jurmala Childrens Rights Centre Irena Drupa believes that there is a necessity to provide Romani children with alternative educational opportunities: such as, correction classes, where they could acquire writing and calculation skills. Irena Drupa is also convinced that teachers who work with Romani children should speak Romani. According to data of the national Census 2000, the educational level of more than 40% of Romani people in Latvia is 4 or less than 4 grades.

Vesti Segodnya prints an interview with the social educator of the Russian-language Riga Secondary School No.17 Tatjana Jegorova about possible effects of the education reform. Tatjana Jegorova speculates that approximately 30% minority students are not able to learn in Latvian. Referring to information provided by her colleagues, she also states that the quality of education is getting worse because teachers have to simplify study materials so students would be able to understand.

• Articles about two-stream (Latvian and Russian) schools in Latvia
• Latvijas Avize reports on the formation of regional branches of the NGO United Congress of the Russian Community in Latvia (OKROL)
• Teacher of the Riga Primary School of Applied Arts in the name of Oskars Kalpaks Marks Gurjevs talks about the attitude of Latvian students towards the Russian language
• Interview with the director of the Rezekne Polish School Valentina Sidlovska
• Interview with the Head of the Union of Teachers of Russian Schools in Estonia Union Ludmila Polakova
• Latvian government nominates a new European Commissioner

Newspapers feature articles about two-stream schools in Latvia.

Newspapers feature articles about two-stream schools in Latvia. Neatkariga Rita Avize reports on a positive practise at the Carnikava Primary School. According to the director of the school Inta Lemesonoka, Russian students of this school have no problems in relation to the implementation of the education reform because already from the fifth grade they are taught with bilingual methodology – in Latvian and in Russian and in the 8th grade several subjects are taught only in Latvian. Latvijas Avize refers to the study of the Baltic Institute of Social Sciences ‘Dual-Stream Schools –Assessment of an Example of Bilingual Education. There are 98 two-stream schools in Latvia, the majority of them is located in Latgale (44) and Vidzeme (30, out of them 19 in the Riga district). Neatkariga Rita Avize, Latvijas Avize

Latvijas Avize prints an article about the formation of the regional branches of the NGO the United Congress of the Russian Community in Latvia (OKROL –abbreviation of organisations name in Russian) and features opinions of the representatives of those municipalities where the organisation has formed its branches. The Jelgava Vice-mayor Irena Skutane states that the newly established organisation ‘actively advocates against the Law on Education. The Mayor of Rezekne Juris Zacests reports that attempts of the OKROL to expand its activities in Rezekne have failed as the residents of the city do not support activities of the organisation.

Neatkariga Rita Avize features an article by the teacher of the Riga Primary School of Applied Arts in the name of Oskars Kalpaks Marks Gurjevs about the attitude of Latvian students towards the Russian language and their relationships with Russians. According to the teacher, Latvian students do not object to learning Russian at school. Moreover, a dominant majority of Latvian students already speaks Russian. The author also states that Russian children do not feel uncomfortably in Latvian schools – they are active and have no problems to communicate their Latvian peers.

Latvijas Avize prints an interview with the director of the Rezekne Polish School Valentina Sidlovska. According to the director, all subjects, but the Polish language, the geography of Poland and foreign languages, are taught in Latvian at school.

Vesti Segodnya features an interview with the head of the Union of Teacehers of Russian Schools in Estonia Ludmila Polakova about the forthcoming implementation of the minority education reform in Russian-language Schools in Estonia. Ludmila Polakova states that the principle of voluntary participation in the transition to teaching several subjects in Estonian has been considered as schools have the right to choose subjects to be taught in Estonian.

Following the call of the new President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to replace Latvia’s candidate for the post of commissioner Ingrida Udre, the Latvian government has nominated Andris Piebalgs, the former head of the Latvia’s Mission to the European Union and the Head of the Cabinet of the present Commissioner Sandra Kalniete.

Following the call of the new President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to replace Latvias candidate for the post of commissioner Ingrida Udre, the Latvian government has nominated Andris Piebalgs, the former head of the Latvias Mission to the European Union and the Head of the Cabinet of the present Commissioner Sandra Kalniete. Diena, Neatkariga Rita Avize, Latvijas Avize, Rigas Balss, Chas, Vesti Segodnya, Telegraf

• Number of naturalisation applications grows
• New head of the UNHCR Regional Office for the Nordic and Baltic Countries visits the refugee camp Mucinieki
• MPs discuss the call to the world leaders to ignore the celebration of the anniversary of the victory in World War II in Moscow on 9 May 2005
• Interview with the head of the Lebanon Education and Culture Club Hosams Abu Meri

Latvijas Avize reports that this year the number of naturalisation applications has grown and most likely it will continue to grow in 2005 as well. The increased number of people who apply for naturalisation can be explained with Latvias accession to the EU and NATO and wish of non-citizens to study and work in EU countries. Besides, naturalisation applicants are provided a possibility to learn the Latvian language free of charge. Approximately 3,200 non-citizens have attended the Latvian language courses free of charge this year. However, the deputy chairman of the Naturalisation Board Janis Kahanovics states that resources, allocated by the state and Society Integration Foundation for the implementation of courses, are exhausted and if a political decision is not taken, there will be no money to provide language courses in 2005. There are 462,000 non-citizens in Latvia now. During the last year the number of non-citizens has decreased by 20,000: a part naturalised, but the other – emigrated from Latvia.

The new head of the UNHCR Regional Office for the Nordic and Baltic Countries Mashiko Kondo visited the refugee camp “Mucinieki.” The refugee camp was opened 6 years ago and during this time it has received 200 people. The director of the Department on Refugee Affairs of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) Baiba Bieza states that recently asylum seekers come predominantly from the CIS countries. In 2004 five persons applied for the status of refugee, however, after investigations, the OCMA took a decision on deportation of these persons to their home countries. Right now there are no asylum seekers in the camp. After the visit, the new head of the UNHCR Regional Office for the Nordic and Baltic Countries concluded that the camp corresponds to all international criteria.

The new head of the UNHCR Regional Office for the Nordic and Baltic Countries Mashiko Kondo visited the refugee camp Mucinieki. The refugee camp was opened 6 years ago and during this time it has received 200 people. The director of the Department on Refugee Affairs of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA) Baiba Bieza states that recently asylum seekers come predominantly from the CIS countries. In 2004 five persons applied for the status of refugee, however, after investigations, the OCMA took a decision on deportation of these persons to their home countries. Right now there are no asylum seekers in the camp. After the visit, the new head of the UNHCR Regional Office for the Nordic and Baltic Countries concluded that the camp corresponds to all international criteria. Vesti Segodnya

Russian-language newspapers continue discussions about the call of some members of the European Parliament to the leaders of the EU. In their call MPs invited the leaders to ignore the invitation of the President of Russia Vladimirs Putins to celebrate the anniversary of the victory in World War II in Moscow on 9 May 2005. The member of the European Parliament Tatjana Zdanoka believes that the true goal of the call is to distract attention of European politicians from real problems present in Latvia: mass non-citizenship and discrimination of minorities. The Head of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee Aleksandrs Kirsteins believes that the President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga should participate in the event because recently Russia has taken some positive steps to improve relations between the states, for example, Russia supported the extension of the partnership agreement between Russia and the EU towards the new member states of the EU. The member of Saeima Boris Tsilevitch regards this call as an attempt to ruin Latvian Russian relations.

Russian-language newspapers continue discussions about the call of some members of the European Parliament to the leaders of the EU. In their call MPs invited the leaders to ignore the invitation of the President of Russia Vladimirs Putins to celebrate the anniversary of the victory in World War II in Moscow on 9 May 2005. The member of the European Parliament Tatjana Zdanoka believes that the true goal of the call is to distract attention of European politicians from real problems present in Latvia: mass non-citizenship and discrimination of minorities. The Head of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee Aleksandrs Kirsteins believes that the President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga should participate in the event because recently Russia has taken some positive steps to improve relations between the states, for example, Russia supported the extension of the partnership agreement between Russia and the EU towards the new member states of the EU. The member of Saeima Boris Tsilevitch regards this call as an attempt to ruin Latvian Russian relations. Telegeraf features views of the Foreign Affairs Minister Artis Pabriks, who believes that the goal of the Vladimir Putins invitation is the internal division within the EU. Vesti Segodnya, Telegraf

Latvijas Avize features an interview with the doctor and the head of the Lebanon Education and Culture Club Hosams Abu Meri about the situation of his compatriots in Latvia. According to Hosams Abu Meri, 45 Lebanese are permanent residents of Latvia at the moment, while 15 Lebanese come to Latvia on regular basis to do business. All Lebanese, who live in Latvia permanently, speak Latvian. Hosams Abu Meri believes that some Russian-speakers have a negative attitude towards, because they do not share the common values of the state.

• Sestdiena reports on naturalisation in Daugavpils
• Interview with the Head of the Saeima Education, Science and Culture Committee Janis Strazdins

Dienas weekly supplement Sestdiena prints an article about naturalisation in Daugavpils and reports that after Latvias accession to the EU Daugavpils is the only city in Latvia where the number of applicants for naturalisation has been dropping. The author, referring to interviews with officials of the Naturalisation Board and non-citizens, write that many non-citizens do not naturalise because they believe that the EU will make Latvia to grant Latvian citizenship for all non-citizens and give Russian the status of the second state language. The author of the article also draws attention to other data particular for Daugavpils. Naturalisation applicants in Daugavpils experience bigger difficulties in passing the Latvian language test: 25 – 30% of naturalisation applicants in Daugavpils are not able to pass Latvian language exam the first time, while the percentage of people who can not pass the Latvian language exam the first time in Riga is 14%. Nevertheless, there are lesser non-citizens in Daugavpils (28% out of total of its residents) than in Riga (32%).

Latvijas Avize features an interview with the Head of the Saeima Education, Science and Culture Committee Janis Strazdins concerning education issues, in particular the implementation of the education reform and necessity to teach the Latvian history as a separate subject in the Latvian-language and minority schools as well. The MP notes that at the moment there is no rush with the adoption of the Law on Minority Schools, because the dominant majority of the Russian-speaking society does not take part in the protest actions against the education reform. Janis Strazdins believes that the strong opposition of non-Latvians against the education reform can be explained by the lack of sound knowledge of the Latvian history and one-sided interpretation of the consequences of the Soviet occupation in Latvia.

• Vote of the Peoples Party against the next years state budget results in the resignation of the government
• Newspapers criticise the stance of some politicians not to grant the citizenship of Latvia to Jurijs Peropavlovskis
• Seminars ‘Successful transition of minority schools to studies in the Latvian language organised by the Ministry of Education and Science and regional education offices for teachers are launched
• Register of Enterprises has refused the official registration of the national-bolshevic organisation ‘NBP

The unexpected voting of the largest governing party – People’s Party – against the draft state budget 2005 in the first reading has caused a resignation of the government of Indulis Emsis. The opposition parties For Fatherland and Freedom/LNIM and the New Era also voted against the draft.

The unexpected voting of the largest governing party – Peoples Party – against the draft state budget 2005 in the first reading has caused a resignation of the government of Indulis Emsis. The opposition parties For Fatherland and Freedom/LNIM and the New Era also voted against the draft. Diena, Neatkariga Rita Avize, Rigas Balss, Latvijas Avize, Vesti Segodnya, Chas, Telegraf

Chas prints a critical commentary of Leonids Fedosejevs about statements of some politicians that the activist of the Headquarters for the Defence of Russian-language Schools Jurijs Peropavlovskis should not be granted Latvian citizenship, although he has passed the naturalisation exams. Leonids Fedosejevs believes that Jurijs Peropavlovskis should not be allowed to take the naturalisation examinations if the state security institutions had doubts about his eligibility for the naturalisation.

Chas reports on seminars ‘Successful transition of minorities schools to studies in the Latvian language, organised by the Ministry of Education and Science and regional education offices for the minority schools teachers. During these seminars teachers are introduced with the good practices in this area. According to the newspaper, even students of the ‘successful schools have some difficulties to understand and translate the terms into their native language.

The Register of Enterprises has refused the official registration of the organisation ‘NBP.’ The application of registration was submitted by the active supporter of the national-bolshevic ideas Aijo Beness. According to the resolution of the state notary, the ‘actual goals of the ‘NBP’ contradicts the Latvian Constitution and legislation.’ it also states that future activities of this organisation may foster tension in society. The organisation indicates that its key goals are national revival of Russians, protection of human rights and implementation of social justice.

The Register of Enterprises has refused the official registration of the organisation ‘NBP. The application of registration was submitted by the active supporter of the national-bolshevic ideas Aijo Beness. According to the resolution of the state notary, the ‘actual goals of the ‘NBP contradicts the Latvian Constitution and legislation. it also states that future activities of this organisation may foster tension in society. The organisation indicates that its key goals are national revival of Russians, protection of human rights and implementation of social justice. Latvijas Avize