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.

• 35,7% of Latvian residents who speak Russian language in family do not see justifications for Russia’s actions in Ukraine
• Latvijas Avize prints comments of the Concord Centre’s politicians about the position of local Russians regarding possible Russia’s aggression against Latvia
• Well-know Russian stand-up comedian and writer Mihail Zadornov might be deprived of residence permit in Latvia
• Forum of parents representing ethnic minority students scheduled for 12 April
• Headquarters for the Support of Russian Language Schools prepared its demands on education in ethnic minority schools
• Vladimirs Buzajevs: the language reform in ethnic minority schools is initiated by the nationalists because students of Russian language schools show better results

According to a public opinion survey conducted by SKDS, 35,7% of Latvian residents who speak Russian language in family do not see justifications for Russia’s actions in Ukraine, while 43,1% believe that there are grounds for such actions. Among Latvian language speaking residents, 78,3%  do not see justification and only 7,7% see it. Diena

Latvijas Avize prints comments of the Concord Centre’s politicians about the position of local Russians regarding possible Russia’s aggression against Latvia. The politicians believe that a question about theoretical Russia’s aggression is provocative. Thus, the MP Igors Pimenovs believes that local Russian residents are a resource for Latvia and not a “fifth column” and those who serve in Latvia’s military forces will act according to the oath they gave. The MP Andrejs Klementjevs does not see any connection between Crimea and Baltic states and says that local Russians would fight for Latvia as a country but not for its government because for all past 20 years people integrated into the society, but into the state. Mr Klementjevs also believes that young people do not feel attached to the USSR unlike 60-80 years old people who were young during the Soviet era.

The Saeima’s Consolidation Committee forwarded to the Ministry of Interior a letter asking to check whether publications of well-know Russian stand-up comedian and writer Mihail Zadornov incite ethnic hatred. The MPs received complaint from a Latvian resident who requested to revoke M. Zadornov’s residence permit in Latvia because he supported reunion of Crimea with Russia. Vesti Segodnya, Diena

Vesti Segodnya reports about a forum of parents representing ethnic minority students scheduled for 12 April in Riga. An organiser of the forum Konstantins Cekusins wants to mobilize parents with an aim to create a mechanism for realisation of parents’ rights to impact decision making process in education and to show that they are the main customers of education.

Before a protest action against transfer of education in ethnic minority schools into Latvian language scheduled for today, the Headquarters for the Support of Russian Language Schools prepared its demands. The Headquarters demand to exclude from the government’s and governing coalition’s documents plans for language transition in minority schools; to cancel all legal restrictions to study in Russian language at the same time ensuring high quality Latvian language learning; on the basis of pre-war Latvia's experience to introduce a norm obliging the municipality to open class with minority language of instruction if certain number of parents demand so; to restore the practice of separate education programs and separate centralised examination for graduates of Latvian language and ethnic minority schools; to abolish the legal norms which discriminate against the graduates of ethnic minority schools comparing to graduates of Latvian language schools; to ensure high quality preparation of teachers for ethnic minority schools funded by the state. Vesti Segodnya

Vesti Segodnya reports about a research on the results of centralised examination in Latvian language schools and ethnic minority schools ordered by the Ministry of Education in 2009. According to an activist for support of Russian language schools Vladimirs Buzajevs, results of the research clearly reveal that students of ethnic minority schools showed better results in all subjects than students of Latvian language schools from 2006 to 2009 or before the introduction of the common centralised examination in Latvian language for all schools. V. Buzajevs believes that the fact that graduates of ethnic minority schools have better results is the real reason why nationalists proposed to transfer education into Latvian language.