Latvia: HR activist may be deprived of the deputy's mandate

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Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 21:11:47 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Latvia: HR activist may be deprived of the deputy's mandate 

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Leonid Raihman <[email protected]>

Latvia: HR activist may be deprived of the deputy's mandate  


On January 14th, General Office of Public Prosecutor sent a written
request to Riga Appeal Court asking to determine the fact that one of
the prominent Latvian human rights defenders Tatyana Zhdanok has been
a member of the Communist Party after January 13, 1991. In fact,
according to current legislation it means for Mrs. Zhdanok the
deprivation of Riga city Council deputy's mandate.

As it is commonly known, the Communist Party in Latvia, as in any
post-Soviet country, was the only political power during Soviet times.
Many of nowadays parliamentarians and members of the Government, in
contrast to Mrs. Zhdanok, an ordinary member, held high positions in
Communist Party.

Tatyana Zhdanok is one of the founders of Latvian Human Rights
Committee (F.I.D.H.), the biggest human rights defending organizations
within the territory of Latvia. Mrs. Zhdanok consequently fights for
national minorities' rights for eight years. About 70% of ethnically
non-Latvian population are not citizens of Latvia. Several thousands
of them for many years are not able to legalize their status in
Latvia. Tatyana Zhdanok actively participates in work concerning
changing Latvian legislation in accordance with international human
rights standards.

Symbolically, Mrs. Zhdanok in December 1998 participated in Paris
summit where the Declaration on defense of the rights of human rights
defenders was adopted.

Police unlawfully detained Mrs. Zhdanok  as one of picket organizers
for several hours some years ago. With such "witch-hunt" officials are
trying to even more minimize the representation of national minorities
in official structures. In Riga city council the percentage of
deputies belonging to national minorities is 7%, and in Parliament
(Saeima) - 16%.

Article of Law "On Municipal Elections", as well as article of Law "On
Citizenship" in fact is discriminatory, because in this case the Law
has retroactive force.

Latvian State with this indictment does not observe the article 25 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: "Every
citizen shall have the right and the opportunity:
a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through
freely chosen representatives;
c) to have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in
his country."

The court trial is appointed on the date of February,15.

Leonid Raihman,
Latvian Human Rights Committee (F.I.D.H.)

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