FOI-R--3990--SE_reducerad

FOI-R--3990--SE
Pimenovs and Riga City Council member Svetlana Savicka 210 – have all taken
part in the Russian Compatriots’ Organizations Coordination Council, which was
established by the Russian Embassy in Latvia in 2007. 211 The Coordination
Council is concerned with the allocation of financial support from Russia to
compatriots’ organizations in Latvia. A number of Russian-speaking Latvian
politicians participate in the work of the Coordination Council. This situation
symbolically and practically blurs the boundaries between the two countries,
merging Russia’s Compatriots Policy and Russian-speaking activists in Latvia.
It should be noted that not all of the NGOs that receive financial support from
Russia should be seen as Russia’s foreign policy partners. Many of these
organizations have a small membership base and cannot affect social processes
in Latvia. Some others which deal with social issues and Russian folklore are a
benefit rather than a problem for Latvia. However, some of these organizations
have set political objectives that go hand in hand with Russia’s foreign policy,
which aims to increase Russia’s political influence in Latvia.
If Russia’s Compatriots Policy focused solely on supporting compatriots’ rights
to maintain their ethnic identity, Latvia would have no objections. However,
reality has shown that Russia’s Compatriots Policy is focused on influencing
public opinion and internal processes in Latvia as well as promoting
discrimination against Latvia in the international arena. Russian culture and
language in Latvia are self-sufficient and already widely used, so there is no need
to change Latvia’s legislation in order to support it.
A Latvian Constitution Protection Bureau report of 2012 states the following:
“[T]he hidden objective of Russia’s foreign policy is to discredit
Latvia worldwide by: reproaching Latvia for the rebirth of fascism
and rewriting history, attributing to Latvia the image of a failed
state, and emphasizing discrimination against the Russian-speaking
population. [This] is the dominant national security risk for Latvia
created by the Compatriots Policy”. 212
The Security Police in Latvia issued a report in 2012 stating that: “if Latvia’s
policy for the integration of society is focused on the integration of minorities,
209 Sergejs Mirskis is an HC member and a member of Saeima (2006, 2010, 2011).
210 Svetlana Savicka was assistant to the member of Saeima Nils Usakovs from 2006 till 2009. She is
an HC member and Riga City Council member (2009, 2013). Since 2008 Savicka is a chairman of
the board of the “9may.lv” (NGO).
211 See Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots in Latvia, http://www.latvia.mid.ru/ks.html.
212 See “Minister of Interior Affairs: money came from Russia”, NRA, 2012,
http://nra.lv/latvija/politika/71815-iekslietu-ministrs-krievu-valodas-referendumam-nauda-naca-arino-krievijas.htm.
81