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.

• Speaker of the Saeima Solvita Aboltina: there is nothing offensive in the procedure of registration of non-citizens’ children as citizens
• MP Vineta Porina: ethnic minority schools do not educate people loyal towards Latvia
• Reforms Party: large number of non-citizens is very serious problem
• Latvijas Avize prints an article about asylum seekers in Latvia

The Speaker of the Saeima, leader of the political party the Unity Solvita Aboltina in an interview with Chas stated she sees nothing offensive in the procedure of registration of non-citizens’ children as Latvian citizens. Mrs Aboltina believes it is simple bureaucratic procedure and for the majority of parents it should not be a problem to sign also a paper promising to help the child to learn Latvian language and loyalty towards Latvia. Mrs Aboltina also believes the decision on citizenship is political and every country, especially small one, has the right to take it depending on its values.  

Vesti Segodnya reports about a conference “Education which Unites” organised by the Ministry of Culture. The main topic of the conference was about education in ethnic minority schools. However, as the newspaper notes, neither representatives of ethnic minority schools nor specialists in bilingual education were represented. The MP Vineta Porina (member of the nationalists’ union All for Latvia!-FF/LNIM) stated that bilingual education or ethnic minority schools do not implement one of their main tasks – those do not educate people loyal towards Latvia. According to Mrs Porina, in order to change the situation, Latvia has to introduce common education system and studies in all schools should be only in Latvian language. As reported, the nationalists’ union, initiated a collection of signatures for support of transition of all schools only into Latvian language in 2011, however, the required number of signatures for initiation of national referendum was not collected.

The Reforms Party (RP) believes about 300,000 non-citizens in Latvia is very serious problem which has to be solved. However, the RP does not support granting citizenship automatically to all non-citizens because it would be unfair towards 140,000 persons who honestly went trough the naturalisation procedure. The RP considers that problem of non-citizens should be solved by activities stimulating naturalisation, for instance, by countrywide free-of-charge Latvian language courses. Vesti Segodnya

Latvijas Avize prints an article about asylum seekers in Latvia. According to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, 143 persons applied for asylum in Latvia during first eight months of 2012. The majority of asylum seekers were from Georgia – 88 and Congo – 23. According to the head of the Riga Office of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Ilmars Mezs, asylum seekers arrive to Latvia on different reasons as some are searching of better life, but some have real life danger.