MPs seek end to dual citizenship ban; Latvian-Canadian asks Saeima’s help

Andris Straumanis | 

Persons who went into exile during World War II, as well as their descendants, would be allowed dual citizenship under newly proposed amendments to Latvia’s citizenship law. Meanwhile, a Latvian-Canadian has turned to the Saeima asking it to restore her citizenship.

Six members of the Vienotība coalition—Uldis-Ivars Grava, Guntis Bērziņš, Anna Seile, Dzintars Ābiķis, Jānis Reirs and Gunārs Laicāns—proposed the amendments to the citizenship law in a bill submitted Oct. 14 in the Saeima.

Under Latvia’s current citizenship law, dual citizenship is not permitted. However, until July 1995 the law allowed exiles and their descendants to reclaim their Latvian citizenship while at the same time keeping the citizenship of their adopted homeland. A total of 30,793 persons obtained dual citizenship under the so-called transitional rule, according to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde).

The issue of dual citizenship has gained attention in the past few years because of new immigration from Latvia to countries such as Ireland and the United Kingdom, as well as because of complaints from the exile community that some people either did not know of the 1995 deadline or could not complete the registration process in time.

Under the amendments proposed Oct. 14,  the restriction on dual citizenship would be lifted for children born abroad to parents who are Latvian citizens and who automatically become citizens of the other country; for persons who become citizens of another country through marriage; and for exiles and their descendants. Exiles are those people who were Latvian citizens as of June 17, 1940, and left their homeland from that date up to May 4, 1990, when the Latvian Supreme Council declared the nation’s independence from the Soviet Union.

This is not the first time Latvian politicians have sought to amend the citizenship law. For example, similar amendments pushed last year by the government coalition led by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovkis failed to gain political support.

Vienotība, in a pre-election party meeting in July, announced that changes to the citizenship law should be on the agenda for the newly elected Saiema.

While the bill proposing the amendments would affect thousands of ethnic Latvians abroad, another bill submitted Oct. 14 seeks to restore Latvian citizenship for just one individual. Pēteris Tabūns, head of the Saeima’s commission on the citizenship law, submitted proposed legislation to recognize Latvian-Canadian Agra Vāgnere as a Latvian citizen.

According to the bill, Vāgnere, who was born in Latvia, moved to Canada in 1989 where she married an ethnic Latvian-Canadian and became a Canadian citizen. She admits failing to register as a Latvian citizen before the 1995 deadline, so now Vāgnere has turned to the Saeima commission for assistance.

Vāgnere’s contributions to the Latvian community in Canada and her work in defending Latvia’s interests abroad have earned her the right to be a Latvian citizen without giving up her Canadian citizenship, according to the bill. Among her community activities has been working with Latvian ethnic schools in Toronto, in 3×3 culture camps and the Daugavas Vanagi women’s auxiliary. She also has served with the Latvian National Federation in Canada (Latviešu Nacionālā apvienība Kanādā) and on the board of the World Federation of Free Latvians (Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība).

Vāgnere’s appeal to the citizenship commission is supported by Interior Minister Linda Mūrniece and PBLA Chairman Mārtiņš Sausiņš.

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

Štrombergs wins BMX cup in France, sets sights on quadruple crown

Latvians Online | 

After his Oct. 9 victory in the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup, the next big challenge for Latvian cyclist Māris Štrombergs is to secure his sport’s “quadruple crown” with victories in all four top races.

Štrombergs, who won the gold medal in BMX during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, took first in the Union Cycliste Internationale-sponsored event in southern France, according to UCI’s website, www.uci.ch.

He finished the course in a time of 31.805 seconds, beating out New Zealand’s Marc Willers, who earned silver in a time of 31.960.

“This is amazing. I felt so tired today. I was not expecting this,” Štrombergs said after the race, according to UCI’s website. “I was running a temperature and I could not have done one more race! But I kept focussed on this last one and gave it all. This is great. But I am not done yet. I want to win it all.”

Štrombergs reclaimed his title as world champion in August by winning the BMX competition of the UCI BMX World Championships in South Africa. He also was victorious in the 2010 NBL Grand Nationals, held in September in Kentucky.

His next big challenge is the American Bicycle Association’s Grand Nationals, scheduled in November in Tulsa, Okla. If he wins there, Štrombergs will have captured the “quadruple crown” of BMX racing.

DVD showcases history of railways

Egils Kaljo | 

Description of image

For the 90th anniversary of railroading in Latvia, the Latvian Railway History Museum last year released a DVD, Latvijas dzelzceļu populārā vēsture, containing six short films relating to trains in the country.

The railway museum, owned by Latvijas dzelzceļš (Lavian Railway), also published a coffee table book, in Latvian and English, on the history of the railway, and a photo album entitled Dzelzceļš Rīgā un pieskārieni dvēselei (The Railway in Rīga – Soul-touching Reminiscences).

The DVD, just under an hour in total length, collects some intriguing and fascinating, though brief, glimpses of the history of trains in Latvia.

By far the most interesting film on the collection is “Mazbānītis de facto,” which is a documentary on the history of the narrow gauge countryside rails built in Latvia during World War I. Most all of these rails are gone today, but a particularly nice touch in the documentary is to provide historical pictures of where the stations used to be situated, as well as what stands there today (some station houses are still in place, though the rails have long been replaced by roads).

Also interesting is “Kādas lokomotīves stāsts,” which is a five-minute short on the restoration process of the ML 657 locomotive in Ventspils, and its journey to the Railway Museum in Rīga.

A 10-minute film simply called “Mazbānītis,” made by Ērmanis Rodis in 1985, presents a brief journey with a narrow gauge locomotive that is in his collection.

Additionally, there is “Sapņu ekspresis,” a flight of fancy in the imagination of a young child who sees himself as a conductor, engineer and as the station head. There is also a music video, “Vilciens nāk!,” set to the tune of “Lokomotīve jūras krastā” by Latvian electronic music pioneers Dzeltenie pastnieki. The collection is rounded out by “Muzeja nakts,” a 2-minute glimpse of the yearly event Museum Night, when most every museum in Latvia can be visited for free and stays open late, and usually provides some sort of unique activity or presentation for that night only.

All the features are in Latvian, but all selections feature subtitles in English and Russian. The DVD is also multi-region, so it can be played on DVD players worldwide.

The DVD is a fun watch, but is really rather brief. I would have been interested to see a more in-depth documentary on the whole of Latvian Railway, but I suppose this DVD is merely meant as a complement to the book, which offers a very thorough history of the Latvian rail system, with many pictures and historical notes on most every station that once was in the system. Though considering Latvia’s turbulent past there are still many untold stories in the history of the railway, this DVD provided a charming, yet short, overview of trains in Latvia.

Details

Latvijas dzelzceļu populārå vēsture

Latvijas dzelzceļa vēstures muzejs

Rīga:  Latvijas dzelzceļa vēstures muzejs,  2009

Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area . Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.