Russian Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrei Nesterenko respond to a question from Russian media concerning the Latvia’s proposed law on electronic mass media. The legislation, which President Valdis Zatlers of Latvia returned to the Saeima for more work, would require that the television channels registered in Latvia broadcast in Latvian at least 65% of airtime.
“We’re witnessing an attempt of Latvian authorities to return the ‘language quotas’ that had been in force in Latvia in the 1990s and which were found illegal by the Constitutional Court on June 5, 2003, inter alia due to their inconsistency with the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities,” Nesterenko said in a statement. “It is regrettable that President Valdis Zatlers has also taken part in this campaign. The head of the Latvian state did not refer the bill back for reconsideration by the Saeima to bring it into conformity with international law, but to tighten it further, in particular, by extending the requirement that evening broadcasts be in Latvian not only to national, but also regional media.”
He also noted that these actions of the Latvian authorities again confirm the validity of the concern repeatedly voiced by the Russian side over the norms of Latvian law restricting internationally recognized national minority rights, in particular regarding language use, and the legitimacy of the necessity raised by us to protect the rights and interests of the Russian compatriots living in that state before the Latvian side and international organizations.
“It is obvious that such moves by official Riga contradict the assurances of the Latvian authorities’ commitment to the democratic principles of a united Europe, and once again confirm their unwillingness to respect the lawful rights and interests of the Russian-speaking minority in the humanitarian sphere,” Nesterenko said.
