Integration monitor is a daily Latvian press digest on ethnic minority and society integration issues. The Monitor reviews the biggest Latvian dailies: Diena, Latvijas Avize, Neatkariga (in Latvian language), Vesti Segodnya (in Russian language). In specific cases other information sources are used. Latvian Centre for Human Rights is not responsible for information published by the media.

Integration and Minority Information Service

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

• Reflection of the protest meeting against the education reform
• Interview with Latvian journalist about the education reform
• Interview with American political scientist

Vechernaya Riga

features articles about the protest meeting against the education reform, which took place last Friday. One of the articles looks into reflection of the meeting on TV channels. The newspaper states that the private commercial channel TV3 when reporting about the meeting showed a number of children who did not have a clue of what the meeting was about and thus disillusioned its audience. Regarding the National TV, the newspaper states that it showed uninterested reportage, while the commercial channel LNT was really interested in arguments of people who took part in the protest meeting, however, LNT reported that only 3,000 people took part in the meeting. Vechernaya Riga concludes that almost all TV channels are Russo-phobic.

Chas

provides excerpts from news about the protest meeting against the education reform published or given by local and foreign newspapers and news agencies. All foreign news agencies – Associated Press, Reuters, Euronews – estimated that about 10,000 people took part in the meeting.

Chas

interviews Neatkarigas deputy editor-in-chief Sandris Tocs. He states that the goal of the reform is clear and legitimate, however, the implementation of the reform should be gradual, qualitative and serious. He reproaches the Latvian government for doing nothing in the field of social integration in Latvia. He states that the Latvian government is afraid that Europe will discover the real situation in Latvia and that finally Latvian society will wake up and start demanding responsibility from the government. He concludes that Russians should have organised protest activities a long time ago.

Vesti Segodnya

interviews political scientist Dmitry Simes who came to Riga to attend the Baltic Forum. He states that he does not want to give any judgement about the situation of national minorities in Latvia, however, if somebody wants to succeed, s/he has to study in the language of a country s/he lives. Regarding citizenship, he says that the large number of non-citizens and no activities from the governments side will have a negative effect on the whole society.