Author: Andris Straumanis

Dueling petitions in Latvia draw battles lines over language issue

Andris Straumanis | 

Public schools should only teach in Latvian, the official language of Latvia. Or Latvia should just have two state languages, the other being Russian. Whichever you choose, there’s a petition to sign.

The nationalist alliance Visu Latvijai – Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK and an organization called “Sargi valodu un Latviju” used the website www.sargivalodu.lv to get out the word about its petition drive. The petition demands that the constitution be amended to guarantee that elementary and secondary public education is guaranteed by the state, but only in the official language—Latvian.

A total of 10,000 signatures were collected by the end of February and now will be presented to the Central Election Commission (Centrāla vēlēšanu komisija). If all the signatures are legitimate, then the commission will have to organize another petition drive, this time seeking a tenth of all voters, to force the Saeima to consider the amendment.

Meanwhile, Vladimirs Lindermans, head of the Jan. 13 Movement (13. janvāra kustība), and Osipov Party leader Jevgēņijs Osipovs announced March 4 that they will be collecting signatures to recognize Russian as a second state language, according to TVNET and other media. They have formed an organization called “Dzimtā valoda” to push for changes in Latvia’s constitution.

Similar to the petition on Latvian in public education, the effort to recognize Russian could result in forcing the Saeima to take up the question.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Short-term visitors abroad asked to participate as census begins in Latvia

Andris Straumanis | 

Residents of Latvia who find themselves abroad for a short time are encouraged to be counted as part the country’s 2011 census, Central Statistical Bureau officials say.

However, long-term residents of foreign countries will not be counted as part of Latvia’s population in the census that began March 1 and continues to May 31.

Persons who have lived outside Latvia for more than a year should not complete the census form. They will be counted in whichever country they live when that country holds its census.

Latvian residents who find themselves abroad may use the online census form available at www.tautasskaitisana.lv. The Central Statistical Bureau will have the online form available through March 10.

On March 17, census workers will begin visiting Latvian residents around the country.

Thousands of people used the Web-based form on March 1, although the server at one point was overloaded and users could not gain access, according to census officials.

Results of the census are to be reported to the government by Feb. 1, 2012. It is expected that the census will show Latvia’s population has dropped significantly since the last headcount in 2000, which showed a total of 2.37 million residents, of whom 57.7 percent were ethnic Latvians. Since Latvia joined the European Union in 2004, emigration from the country has increased, with tens of thousands of persons moving to countries such as Ireland and the United Kingdom in search of work.

The Central Statistical Bureau estimates that at the end of February a total of 2.227 million people lived in Latvia.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Counterfeiters concentrate on coins, Bank of Latvia data suggest

Andris Straumanis | 

All the counterfeit banknotes and coins Latvian authorities uncovered last year totaled almost LVL 36,000, according to a list released Feb. 16 by the central bank, but the amount posed no threat to the nation’s economy.

A total of 21,397 fake banknotes and coins were uncovered by police in 2010, according to the Bank of Latvia—a more than fivefold increase from 2009. The most popular objects of counterfeiters were 1- and 2-lat coins.

The increase is largely the result of police uncovering counterfeiting operations, according to a press release from the bank.

Overall, according to the bank, counterfeiting is limited in Latvia because of a number of factors: anti-counterfeiting measures; the fact that the lat is circulated in a small territory; and the work of police to uncover counterfeiting operations. One-seventh of all counterfeit money is uncovered in Bank of Latvia affiliates.

The quality of counterfeit banknotes is low, according to the bank. Last year fake banknotes were made using color printers and photocopy machines, with no attempt to imitate anti-counterfeiting measures such as watermarks.

Of all the counterfeit money uncovered last year, 10,759 were 2-lat pieces and 10,422 were 1-lat coins. Since 1994, the 2-lat coin has remained the most popular object of counterfeiters: a total of 53,666 pieces have been confiscated by authorities.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.