Latvia holds referendum on Russian language

• Dalforce 1941

  18 Feb 12, 22:28

  Latvia holds referendum on Russian language 

  SATURDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2012

  RIGA: Latvians began voting on Sunday in a referendum on whether to make Russian the second official language, an issue that causes deep divisions in the former Soviet-ruled republic.

  With ethnic Russians, mostly from a Soviet-era settler community, making up only a third of Latvia's two million people, the drive to give Russian equal constitutional status with Latvian does not look set to muster enough votes.

  The campaign has highlighted deep fault-lines in Latvia, which regained its independence from Moscow in 1991 after five decades of Soviet rule and joined the European Union in 2004.

  Pro-change campaigners say they want to end discrimination against Russian speakers.

  Their opponents see the Latvian language as a symbol of freedom, remembering how thousands of ethnic Latvians were deported to Siberia and Russian was imposed in public life.

  Worldwide, only 1.2 million people speak Latvian, compared to some 120 million who use Russian.

  Latvia's President Andris Berzins has dismissed the referendum as an absurd attempt by radical Russian-speakers to grab the limelight after losing ground to moderates in a snap election.

  Berzins also argues that the issue has little relevance to ordinary voters, as Latvia remains locked in an austerity drive after emerging from the world's deepest recession.

  The hardline Russian-speakers' movement Native Tongue forced the referendum by collecting signatures from over 10 percent of voters.

  But to change the constitution more than 770,000 people 50 percent of the electorate need to vote in favour.

  An issue that rankles among Russian campaigners is that when Soviet citizenship became defunct after independence, the settler community's members did not get Latvian passports automatically.

  Instead, they have had to apply for citizenship, which means passing a Latvian language test.

  Otherwise they remain stateless as remains the case for 300,000 of them or have taken citizenship of Russia or other ex-Soviet republic such as Belarus or Ukraine.

  http://www.brecorder.com/world/europe/46218-latvia-holds-referendum-on-russian-language.html

• Dalforce 1941

  18 Feb 12, 22:32

  Latvia Holds Referendum On Russian Language

  February 18, 2012

  Top Latvian officials are calling on Latvians to vote "no" in a referendum on whether to make Russian the second official language of the country. 
  
  Casting his ballot at a polling station in the center of the capital, Riga, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said, "A vote against this initiative is a vote for strengthening the very foundations of the country."
  
  The referendum, called by a pro-Russian-language group, is seen as almost certain to reject the proposal. A similar effort to make Russian an official language was voted down by Latvia's parliament in December 2011.
  
  But the latest vote is likely to deepen the already sharp divisions in the country over the  language issue.
  
  Ethnic Russians, who mostly moved to Latvia during the Soviet era, make up a third of Latvia's 2 million people. The pro-Russian-language campaigners say the measure is needed to end discrimination against Russian speakers.
  
  "In any case if the Russian language was made an official one, the Russians would feel better and things would be better, no doubt," says Viktor Saltikov, a member of the Russian minority community.
  
  "Because Russians are not going to vanish from Latvia, no matter how much some people would like it! Where shall we go? And there are many of us."
  
  'Russian Or Nothing'
  
  But opponents of the proposal see the Latvian language as a symbol of the country's independence. They say that making Russian a second official language would encourage Russian speakers to maintain a separate identity rather than integrate into Latvian society.
  
  "Latvia is such a small country! Where else can Latvians speak their language?" asks Olegs Malcevs, an ethnic Russian.
  
  "And another thing: knowing that the question is 'Are you in favor of another state language in Latvia?' I think every voter who votes 'yes' knows for sure that for him Russian is going to be the only language, and not the second language along with Latvian."
  
  Malcevs describes it as "totally unacceptable" that people live in Latvia "for 20, 30 years and are not able to speak Latvian. It also strikes me: when a Latvian speaks Russian well, it is seen as normal, but when a Russian speaks Latvian, then it is 'Wow! That's cool!'"
  
  Worldwide, some 1.2 million people speak Latvian, compared to some 120 million who use Russian.
  
  Second-Class Citizens?
  
  The Russian speakers' movement Native Tongue forced the referendum by collecting signatures from over 10 percent of voters. But to change the constitution, more than 770,000 people, 50 percent of the electorate, need to vote in favor.
  
  The main issue that rankles among Russian campaigners is that when Soviet citizenship became defunct after independence, the ethnic Russian community's members did not get Latvian passports automatically.
  
  Instead, they have had to apply for citizenship, which means passing a Latvian-language test.
  
  If they don't take it and pass it, they have two choices: remain stateless or take the citizenship of Russia or another ex-Soviet republic such as Belarus or Ukraine. In either case, they have no right to vote in Latvia, though they continue to live and work there.
  
  About 300,000 of Latvia's Russian speakers hold that status today, something they say makes them second-class citizens.
  
  Compiled from agency reports

  http://www.rferl.org/content/article/24488274.html