• The U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Mark Pekala: diversity is advantage

The U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Mark Pekala in an interview with Telegraf, commenting relations between ethnic Latvian and Russian residents of Latvia stated that diversity is an advantage for the state. According to Mr Pekala, the U.S. always supported diversity, dialogue and comprehension because it is a formula of success.

 

Integration and Minority Information Service of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights

• General Prosecutor: number of criminal cases on incitement to ethnic hatred has increased
• Latvian Language Agency will promote children’s state language learning

According to the General Prosecutor Eriks Kalnmejers, number of criminal cases on incitement to ethnic hatred has increased recently. The majority of cases initiated since 2009 are related to hate speech comments in the Internet forums or articles.  The General Prosecutor states that the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police are experiencing difficulties in choosing methods and criteria of evaluation on whether statements made in the Internet incite to ethnic hatred. The usual practice in these cases is to call for external expertise, such as philologists and human rights experts. Chas

The Latvian Language Agency (LLA) plans to conduct various events and activities in order to promote state language learning by ethnic minority children. According to a representative of the Ministry of Education and Science Liesma Ose, friendly and creative language learning methods would promote more positive attitude towards Latvian language and would widen its usage for children since early childhood. Representative of the LLA Vineta Vaidere believes it is very important to work not only with teachers but also with parents in order to show them how to teach and learn the language. Neatkariga

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Integration Monitor

• Interview with the head of the control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis
• Security Police arrested radical nationalist Igors Siskins for an attempt to buy explosives
• Saeima refused to return the record of person’s ethnic belonging in passports

Telegraf and Vesti Segodnya print interview with the head of the control department of the State Language Centre Antons Kursitis. According to Mr Kursitis, all Russian residents of Latvia who do not want to study Latvian language are Russian chauvinists. Mr Kursitis believes Russian speakers cannot ask for their language more rights for usage in Latvia than other foreign languages have. Mr Kursitis also believes it is wrong to divide the society on Latvian and Russian speakers, because it would be more correct to say “those who speak Latvian” and “those who do not speak Latvian”. Regarding the scandal around the national football team and statement of one of the players that he can live in Latvia without Latvian language proficiency, Mr Kursitis states that it is almost impossible to check this player’s state language proficiency because thus he might be psychologically traumatised before the game, while after the game he departs to play for his club in another country. In total, during the first 9 months of 2012, the State Language Centre inspected 4,000 cases on insufficient state language usage. The acts on violation of the State Language Law were drawn in 3,000 cases and 816 persons got fined.

The Security Police arrested radical nationalist Igors Siskins for an attempt to buy explosive materials most likely with an aim to arrange sabotage and terror acts in Latvia. In the past, Igors Siskins already spent two years in prison for undermining the Monument to the Liberators of Riga from Nazi Invaders. According to Chas, Igors Siskins and his organisation “Gustavs Zemgals’ Centre” (or previously “Perkonkrusts”) is characterized by the Security Police as organisation with Nazi ideology. Chas, Telegraf, Vesti Segodnya

Yesterday, after long debates, the Saeima refused to return the voluntary record on person’s ethnic belonging in passports. Such proposal came from the nationalists’ union All for Latvia/FF-LNIM arguing that it would strengthen Latvians’ national identity. Despite the fact that the proposal was refused this time, the nationalists’ union plans to submit the initiative again, arguing that the voting results were very close. Latvijas Avize, Chas, Telegraf

Integration and Minority Information Service of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights

• Teacher Vladislavs Rafalskis will not be dismissed
• Head of the Education, Culture and Sports Committee of the Riga City Council Eizenija Aldermane: Riga’s integration program promotes equal opportunities for all residents
• EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom: immigration is not a threat
• Conference “Towards Inclusive Society without Hatred: Experience, Achievements and Challenges in Latvia”

Teacher of a Russian language school Vladislavs Rafalskis will not be dismissed. After consulting with lawyers, director of the school took decision not to dismiss the teacher because he already got punished by a written remark as it was recommended by the school’s ethics committee. As reported, Mr Rafalskis in an interview to a radio made a public statement about his disloyalty towards the state. Following the statement, MPs from the nationalists’ union demanded to dismiss the teacher and also the State Service of Education Quality recommended to dismiss him as a teacher should educate state patriots. Diena

Yesterday, the head of the Education, Culture and Sports Committee of the Riga City Council Eizenija Aldermane introduced the Riga integration program to the Saeima’s Society Consolidation Committee. According to Mrs Aldermane, the program emphasizes the society integration as dynamic mutual two-way process which unites the society. The integration program promotes equal opportunities for all residents regardless of their ethnicity, health status or religious views and stresses integration of newcomers or immigrants. Members of the Saeima’s Committee and the City Council’s opposition parties criticized the program for the fact that it is different from the national integration program and, in particularly, that it does not stress Latvian language and common social memory as the key elements of integration. Mrs Aldermane, in her turn, explained that the City Council practically takes care of Latvian language learning by providing free-of-charge language courses. Latvijas Avize

Latvijas Avize features an interview with the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom about migration issues. Mrs Malmstrom believes immigration is not a threat and encourages Latvian residents not to be afraid of immigrants and to look at them as a source for revival of economy and expansion of own outlook. The Commissioner supports controlled immigration and believes it is important to attract highly qualified immigrants to the EU as a source of development. 

Chas reports about a conference “Towards Inclusive Society without Hatred: Experience, Achievements and Challenges in Latvia” conducted by the Riga Graduate School of Law. Latvian high officials, politicians, experts and journalists took part in the conference.  In the opening speech, the President of Latvia Andris Berzins stated that basic values of the society should include respectful attitude towards each other, ability to listen to other opinions and willingness to dialogue and compromise. The President stated that Latvia is a country of rule of law and democracy and incitement to ethnic hatred and discrimination is inadmissible.

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Integration Monitor

Integration and Minority Information Service of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights

• Lawyer Elizabete Krivcova criticizes the Latvian report on implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe

A lawyer Elizabete Krivcova in an interview with Vesti Segodnya criticizes the Latvian report on implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe. Mrs Krivcova believes the report is drawn with an aim to show that Latvia perfectly implements the convention. However, the report was drawn without real involvement of representatives of ethic minorities and it does not include some important events and issues such as referendum on status of Russian language or private initiative to place streets signs both in Russian and Latvian languages.

Yours sincerely,
Integration Monitor