01oct03

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Latvian leadership to pursue the same national policy

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RIGA, October 1, 2003 (RIA Novosti) -- The Latvian leadership is not going to change the course of the Russian schools' reform and the law on self-government elections - non-citizens still will not be able to vote, Latvian Prime Minister Einars Repse said on Wednesday commenting upon the results of the Geneva meeting of the UN committee for racial discrimination. Latvia was recommended to grant the right to vote to non-citizens, to reduce the list of prohibited professions and postpone transferring teaching at Russian schools to the Latvian language

"We shall not give the right of voting in self-government elections and shall not change the education reform," the Latvian Prime Minister said.

Minister for Integration Affairs Nils Muiznieks supported the Prime Minister. The education reform in Latvia "meets the demands of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the European Union," Muiznieks told the Latvian TV yesterday.

Speaking about the UN recommendation to grant the right of voting in municipal elections to non-citizens (25 percent of the Latvian population) Muiznieks said that it contradicts the demand of international organisations to boost the naturalisation of Latvian non-citizens. "These two things are mutually exclusive," he noted

[Source: Russian Information Agency (Novosti), 01Oct03]

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