Latvia: the new apartheid

national | miscellaneous | news report Sunday July 07, 2002 18:03 by peter

Latvia: the new apartheid

Latvia: the new apartheid*

The goverment has divided the people of Latvia in two categories:"citizens"and "non-citizens".Since 1990,when Latvia declared its indipendence from USSR,at least 1/3 of its residents hadn't been given the new latvian citizenship,with the official explanation that "they came here when Latvia was a member of the Soviet Union".This period is...just 45 years.(end of WW2-1990)

"Anywhere out of Latvia!"

Now,all of these people are considered "illegal immigrants"and they are being pushed to return to the lands that they came from."anywhere out of Latvia!",although they where in Latvia for decades and were working for its reconstruction and its depelopment,and MOST OF THEM WERE BORN & grew up IN LATVIA.Now,those who want to be Latvians in citizenship must take exams(!)in History( Nazi point of view/the administration of Latvia is occupied from Nazi lovers and colaborationallists during WW2),Language and to pledge in the "New State".After this humiliation,a competent comitee will decide if they "deserve to be Latvian"(!!!)Until verdict,they are being deprived of all their human and democratic rights!

"As it was in South Africa!"

According to the "Political Alliance For The Human Rights In A Unified Latvia",which is the 3rd party in the Latvian Parliament and it is against this racial discrimination "there are 50-55 articles in the Latvian Constitution that there are distinctions among the "citizens"and the"non-citizens"".

Restrictions to the political action

All of the public gatherings,marches,even the picket lines are strictly prohibited during the workdays!Prohibited are also the symbols of the "soviet-era" and the "propaganda of communism"(or,whatever they consider as"communistic",you can imagine that this term is very wide to the authorities).At the same time,these who are keen to Nazism and the former collaborationallists to Fascism during the WW2,those who had founded the Latvian "Legion of S-S",act without noone to disturb them and organize activities of hate.

Prosecutions against the Anti-fascists of WW2(!!!!)

Very often there are many political prosecutions and they have been arrested many former partizans,war veterans of the anti-fascist war(WW2).The case of the legendary partizan Vasil Cosionov is very characteristic.During the WW2,he was acting into a special team of sabotaging the enemy and personally he had derailed 14(!) Nazi trains which were transporting ammunition and nazi soldiers.He was prosecuted and condemned to 6 years imprisonment for....war crimes(!!!!)The attempts of his lawyers and the mobilization of the public opinion were not successful.In the end,Vasil Cosionov was forced to resign his Latvian citizenship,became"stranger in his own land",he took the russian citizenship and after the political intervention of Moscow he was saved from imprisonment.Still there are many brief against antifascist veterans of the WW2

Also to mention that...

-the communist party of Latvia is prohibited ,because the parliament decided so.

-the communists,the former members of the communist party,even the members of the old Soviet of the Labour Collectives&,the memebers of the organizations of the veterans of the anti-fascist war(WW2) HAVE NOT THE RIGHT TO BE CANDIDATES for ANY KIND of elections(Parliament,municipal etc.)They cannot ,"of course",be public servants and in general,members of the latvian state administration.For example,Alfred Rubics,former first secretary of the Latvian Communist Party,who was imprisoned for his ideas for 6 years(1991-1997),although now is the leader of the Socialist Party of Latvia and one of the 3 leaders of the "Political Alliance..."which was mentioned before,canNOT be a candidate for the elections.

*Latvia is situated in North-eastern Europe and also a candidate for European Union