The Latvian parliament has passed the second reading of amendments to the country’s Citizenship Law. The amendments, among other changes, would open the possibility of dual citizenship for tens of thousands of Latvians now living abroad.

However, opposition politicians said the legislation discriminates against those who do not live in certain countries or who are not ethnic Latvians.

A total of 65 members of parliament voted Sept. 6 in favor of the amendment, eight voted against and 19 abstained, according to a transcript of the Sept. 6 Saeima session.

The legislation (Nr. 52/Lp11) now returns to the Legal Affairs Committee (Juridiskā komisija) in preparation for a third and final reading.

Speaking about language that would once again allow exiles and their descendants to register their Latvian citizenship and become dual citizens, MP Rasma Kārkliņa of the Unity (Vienotība) party reminded the Saeima that the amendment is tied to the concept of state continuity.

Under the current Citizenship Law, exiles and their descendants only until July 1995 were able to reclaim Latvian citizenship without giving up citizenship in their host countries. Since then, dual citizenship has not been allowed.

Many exiles were not able to meet the deadline, Kārkliņa said, and this is unfair.

Besides allowing exiles and their descendants to become dual citizens, the amendments also would allow dual citizenship for citizens of European Union, European Free Trade Association, and NATO defense alliance member states.

The Saeima rejected a proposal from the Russian-oriented Harmony Centre party (Saskaņas Centrs) that would have allowed dual citizenship regardless of where a person lives.

“This proposal is presented with the goal of not discriminating Latvian citizens and their descendants on the basis of which country and ethnic group they belong to,” MP Valerijs Agešins of Harmony Centre told the Saeima. He noted that exiles went not just to Western countries.

“Harmony Centre believes that all citizens—all citizens—are needed by Latvia and it would not be right to lock out those whom fate dropped into countries that do no belong to elite clubs,” Agešins said. Those countries would include Russia.

Dual citizenship should be allowed only with countries with which Latvia has friendly relations, countered MP Dzintars Ābiķis of Unity. He noted that President Vladimir Putin has said that one of the tragedies of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union, suggesting that the Russian leader views Latvia’s renewed independence as a mistake.

“Therefore it is more than clear that the institution of dual citizenship can exist only with those countries with which we have friendly relations, about which we do not have to wonder if they acknowledge our independence, about which we do not have to wonder if they will invade the territory of our friendly states,” Ābiķis said.

The Legal Affairs Committee has asked for proposals regarding the third reading to be received by Sept. 20. If passed by the Saeima and approved by President Andris Bērziņš, the amended Citizenship Law would take effect Jan. 1.

Aigars Apinis of Latvia has added another medal to his collection, earning a silver in the discus throw at the 2012 London Paralympics. The 39-year-old athlete also set a new world record.

Competing in the Sept. 6 event, Apinis threw the discus a distance of 21.0 meters, which set the new world record for the F52 classification. Apinis competes in the F51/52/53 category, which is for athletes who throw from a seated position in a wheelchair.

The gold medal went to Mohamed Berrahal of Algeria, who scored a total of 1,093 points in the event. Apinis had 1,010 points for the silver. The bronze medal was earned by Mohamed Zemzemi of Tunisia with 917 points.

This is the fourth time Apinis has medaled in the event. In 2000 during the Sydney Paralympics, he earned a bronze medal. In 2004, he won a gold medal in the Athens games. In 2008, he won another gold during the Beijing games.

In London, Apinis also claimed the gold medal—and another world record—in the Aug. 31 shot put event for the F52 classification.

The 2012 London Paralympics began Aug. 29 and run through Sept. 9.

Amendments to Latvia’s citizenship law that include allowing dual citizenship for a broad range of individuals should take effect Jan. 1, the Saeima’s Legal Affairs Committee has suggested.

The committee on Aug. 28 signed off on the amendments as the legislation heads for a second reading in the full parliament, according to the Saeima Press Service. Only after a third reading and the president’s signature would the amendments become law.

The committee accepted the amendments to the law as developed so far by its Citizenship Law Amendments Subcommittee (Pilsonības likuma grozījumu apakškomisija), which has been tasked with debating necessary changes to the law and, specifically, amendments outlined in legislation (Nr. 52/Lp11) first proposed last year toward the end of the 10th Saeima’s mandate.

Most of the amendments are aimed at the tens of thousands of recent emigrants from Latvia as well as residents of Latvia who are not yet citizens. But specific sections would affect pre-World War II exiles and their families.

Among revisions to the amendments approved by the Legal Affairs Committee is clarification that descendants of exiles down to the fourth generation could apply for Latvian citizenship. The original language of the legislation did not set a generational limit. The language was recommended by the National Alliance (Nacionālā apvienība “Visu Latvijai! – Tēvzemei un Brīvībai/LNNK”).

However, the committee rejected a National Alliance proposal to add Latvians who hold Australian or Brazilian citizenship to the list of those who could qualify for dual citizenship. Instead, the committee approved language that would allow dual citizenship for those who have citizenship in a member state of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, or the NATO defense alliance; who are citizens of a country with which Latvia has a treaty recognizing dual citizenship; who receive approval from the Cabinet of Ministers; or who became a citizen of another country through marriage or adoption.

Members of the committee agreed that the revised law, as well as regulations that would need to be developed by the Cabinet of Ministers, should take effect Jan. 1, according to the press service.

The Saeima comes back into session on Sept. 4. The Legal Affairs Committee has offered a Sept. 20 deadline for revisions to the amendments before the legislation is taken up for its third and final reading.