Latvia Protests Russian Statement on Situation of Minorities

The Foreign Ministry on 18 July handed an official note to the Russian Embassy protesting a Russian representative's claims at a 16 July meeting of Council of Europe deputy ministers that tensions over Latvia's educational reform could lead to civil unrest and conflict in Latvia, BNS reported. On 17 July the ministry told BNS that the unidentified representative had "taken upon himself the role of spokesperson for Latvia's minorities and suggested and toyed with a provocative question -- do minorities really have to tackle extreme measures for their rights to be satisfied?" The note called upon Russia to provide any information it has regarding the possibility of civil unrest or to retract the statement. In addition, it said the Russian representative's statement does not reflect the true situation and draws false conclusions with respect to the situation of minority rights regarding education and language in Latvia. The ministry also urged Russia to take note of the positive assessments made by international human rights organizations on the human rights situation in Latvia.