Minority issues in Latvia, No. 24

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Subject: Minority issues in Latvia, No. 24

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Minority issues in Latvia, No. 24


Minority issues in Latvia, No. 24
Prepared by the Latvian Human Rights Committee (F.I.D.H.)
February 4, 2001
 

The Council of Europe closes the monitoring procedure of Latvia
 
On January 23, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
adopted the Resolution 1236 "Honouring of obligations and commitments
by Latvia". The Assembly welcomes the ratification of the European
Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols, other European
Conventions, the adoption by the Saeima (Parliament) of the amendments
to the Law on Citizenship, the adoption of the amended State Language
Law and implementing legislation, the adoption of the National
Programme for the Integration of Society in Latvia. The Assembly is of
the opinion that Latvia has made substantial progress in honouring its
obligations and commitments, therefore considers the current
monitoring procedure as closed.

However, the Assembly mentions some problematic issues for Latvia. The
Assembly considers it to be essential that Latvian authorities
maintain an open dialogue with the non-Latvian speaking community on
the further implementation of the Education Law, in particular on
issues concerning the introduction of Latvian as the sole language of
instruction in secondary schools by 2004, and the implementation of
minority education programmes in primary schools. The Assembly also
calls on the Latvian authorities:

- to ratify as a matter of priority the Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities and to amend and implement
legislation, in particular the amended State Language Law, as well as
the Education Law, according to the provisions and the spirit of the
Framework Convention;

- to work out and adopt a law on protection of national and language
minorities and to establish a state body in charge of minority
affairs;

- to give further encouragement to non-citizens to apply for
citizenship, to try to obtain further results in this field by, for
instance, combining the obligatory tests for naturalisation with
centralised final school exams, targeting language training for
naturalisation candidates and reducing the naturalisation fee;

- to provide additional resources to the Naturalisation Board and the
National Programme for Latvian Language Training, etc.

Taking into account these issues, the Assembly maintains the right to
reopen the monitoring procedure. The full text of the resolution is
available online at http://stars.coe.int/ta/ta01/ERES1236.HTM

In our view, the prospects for fulfilment of the Assembly�s
recommendations in the nearest future are not optimistic.


News from the Saeima
 
MPs from the radical nationalistic faction "For Fatherland and
Freedom" have begun struggle for the "new, beautiful life" (MP Juris
Dobelis). On December 21, Mr Dobelis suggested to introduce
administrative responsibility for the manifestation of "disrespect
towards the state language". This suggestion was adopted in the
preliminary reading by a big majority (only MPs from the pro-minority
faction "For Human Rights in United Latvia" voted against it). If this
amendment to the Administrative Misdemeanour Code will be adopted in
the third reading, the "obvious disrespect towards the state language"
will be considered as an administrative misdemeanour, the fine will be
up to Ls 250 (approx. $400)
 

The first signboards in Russian in Riga
 
The new language legislation (came into force on September 1, 2000)
now does not contain the prohibition to use other languages along with
Latvian in public information provided by private persons or
institutions. That is why the Latvian Human Rights Committee
(F.I.D.H.) has established awards for businessmen who display
information also in the languages of national minorities. The first
laureate became an owner of a bookshop in the centre of Riga. There is
an inscription on the signboard in the Russian language "Books in
Russian are on sale. The wide choice". Another signboard of the
lawyers� firm "LaVe" in both Latvian and Russian language informs
about possibility to register a business enterprise. 
 

Deputy candidates cannot pass their language exam
 
>From January 20 till January 30 electoral commissions in Latvia
register applications and lists of candidates for the municipal
elections to take place on March 11. One of the documents every deputy
candidate must have, if he/she has not graduated from school with
Latvian language of instruction, is the state language proficiency
certificate of the highest (3rd) category. This requirement is
prescribed by the Law "On the Elections of City Councils, Novads
Councils and Pagasts Councils". Those citizens of Latvia who cannot
produce this certificate cannot stand in municipal elections. 

New Regulations of the Cabinet on issuing these certificates came into
force on September 1, 2000. The Regulations stipulate that the
responsibility for organising the state language tests is transferred
from municipalities to the State Language Centre, i.e. the tests are
centralised. Thus, previous language commissions were dismissed, but
new commissions still have not been created. As a result, political
parties with many candidates belonging to national minorities, faced
significant problems.

After several complaints, the State Language Centre decided to hold
language exams for deputy candidates exclusively. However, some of
deputy candidates were abroad on those days, and now they are forced
to resign from running, or to be stripped off the lists by the
electoral commissions.   

It should be mentioned here that the state language certificate is
also a necessary condition for employment in most of jobs, thus, also
people who are not deputy candidates now have no possibility to pass
the state language tests and have difficulties with jobs. 

However, the state language proficiency certificate also does not
guarantee that a person belonging to national minority will become a
deputy candidate. The State Language Centre and the Riga City
Electoral Commission declared invalid the state language proficiency
certificate issued to Mr Afanasy Kuzmin, candidate of the pro-minority
faction "For Human Rights in United Latvia" at the elections of the
Riga City Council. Mr. Kuzmin is a very popular person in Latvia, he
won Olympic games four times in shooting, 11 times he was the world
champion, 10 times - European champion. His ancestors were the
citizens of Latvia, he speaks Latvian fluently.

Similar decisions taken before municipal elections in 1997 and
parliamentary elections in 1998 have been contested by the candidates
who had been removed from the candidates' lists on the same grounds.
One individual complaint to violation of the right to be elected and
dicrimination on the basis of language is now considered by the UN
Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol to ICCPR, another
similar complaint - by the European Court of Human Rights. On both
cases, the decision on admissibility is expected in 2001. 

 
Alexei Dimitrov
Latvian Human Rights Committee (F.I.D.H.)

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