Fwd: Ethnic Policy In Latvia On Downward Trend
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Subject: Fwd: Ethnic Policy In Latvia On Downward Trend
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Fwd: Ethnic Policy In Latvia On Downward Trend
Copyright 2001 Financial Times Information
All rights reserved
Global News Wire
Copyright 2001 Baltic Times
The Baltic Times
July 12, 2001
HEADLINE: ETHNIC POLICY IN LATVIA ON DOWNWARD TREND
BYLINE: ANNA PRIDANOVA
The year 2000 was unsuccessful in terms of ethnic policy in Latvia,
according to six Latvian social scientists who on July 3 released a
report on the topic.
They deem the state language policy unsuccessful because it does
not create the necessary background to strengthen the status of the
state language in society.
Instead of a coordinated integration policy last year, Latvia faced
public rallies that split society, according to the research, which
was edited by the philosopher Elmars Vebers.
The researchers suggest that the Latvian Parliament ratify the Council
of Europe framework Convention on the Protection of National
Minorities and formulate provisions emphasizing circumstances specific
to Latvia.
They also suggest increasing the funding allocated to the promotion
and preservation of minority culture, language and traditions.
What is characteristic to the Latvian situation, the research finds,
is that only Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian organizations are
active in the ethnopolitical sphere. These public organizations
generally tend to concentrate on the development of their culture and
education in the native tongue.
The people who work in the field of ethnic policy are not always
educated in the respective field, which produces a certain amateurism
even in state institutions.
Two of Latvia's ruling coalition parties, the People's Party and
Latvia's Way, have not yet declared their ethnic political stance. The
nationalist Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK, Social Democrats and leftist
National Harmony Party are the only parties to have issued a firm
stance on ethnic issues, the study points out.
Only one government, led by former Prime Minister Valdis Birkavs in
1993 and 1994, included a position on ethnic policy in its platform,
according to researcher Leo Dribins of the University of Latvia's
Philosophy and Social Sciences Institute.
Also, the information space in Latvia is still divided in two value
systems - Latvian and Russian - though there are many native Russian
speakers who are an active audience for the Latvian media. Considering
this, the researchers advise that the Latvian media should do better
to address non-native Latvian speakers.
The politicized ethnic-integration climate results from a still
unfinished legislative process and a misunderstanding of ethnic
relations.
"This lack of understanding often is compensated by stereotypes
dominating in society. One of the most fatal is the stereotype about
the Latvian nation and Latvian language being in danger. The
ethno-psychological stereotypes are supplemented by the exaggerated
understanding of ethnic identity," reads the report.
The research was sponsored by the Soros Foundation-Latvia. The total
2000 budget for the project approved within the Ethnic Harmony and
Integration program was $ 148,669.
Latvian society is made up of more than 130 ethnic groups, with 99
percent of the population being represented by only 10 major ethnic
groups - Latvian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian,
Hebrew, Roma, German and Estonian.
JOURNAL-CODE: WBLT
LOAD-DATE: July 12, 2001
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