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.

• Miroslavs Mitorfanovs (Russian Union of Latvia): the hopes of ethnic Latvians might turn towards Russia again in the future
• Minister of Defence believes that Youth Guard can increase patriotism of young people and promote society integration
• Nationalists repeatedly submitted proposal to ban on the issuing of residence permits to Russian investors

Vesti Segodnya reports that the Head of the Saeima’s National Security Committee Valdis Zatlers called the Security Police to check the election campaign material of the political party the Russian Union of Latvia (RUL). The party’s newspaper was distributed in Latgale (eastern Latvian region) in which, allegedly, Latgale was compared with Crimea. One of the leaders of the RUL Miroslavs Mitorfanovs in an interview with the newspaper explains that the same newspaper was distributed in all Latvia (not just Latgale) and that the party signed cooperation agreement with Crimea in order to show its sympathy and solidarity with the Crimean people. He hopes that these contacts with Crimea will give opportunity for Latvian businesses once the sanctions will be lifted. He believes Latvian journalists and the ex-president Valdis Zatlers invented second interpretation of the agreement with Crimea: if Latvia will not care about Latgale and if the EU will not care about Latvia, then another country and another union will take care. He also believes that ethnic Russian residents of Latvia would be equals among equals with ethnic Latvians within the empire as there would be no discrimination in admission to the civil service and no moral terror of language inspection. At the same time, Mitrofanovs says that the majority of ethnic Latvians want to develop their own independent state and ethnic Russian minority has only one moral choice: to support ethnic Latvians in their choice. However, he also assumes that in the perspective of the next 10 years, if the standard of living in Latvia will be lower than in the neighbour countries, the sympathies of ethnic Latvians might change and the hopes of ethnic Latvians might turn towards Russia again.

According to the Minister of Defence Raimonds Vejonis, the Youth Guard in Latvia can help to increase patriotism of young people and promote society integration. The Minister believes that every Latvian school must have its detachment of Young Guards. Vesti Segodnya

The nationalists’ union All for Latvia!/FF-LNIM repeatedly submitted to the Saeima proposal to ban the issuing of residence permits to Russian investors and owners of expensive real estate. The nationalists want to restrict the influx into Latvia of Russian citizens who possess certain economic influence. The same proposal was refused by the majority of the Saeima last week. Latvijas Avize