Brussels, 16/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The referendum on introducing Russian as an official second language in Latvia, which will take place on Saturday 18 February, is the subject of contradictory opinions within the European Parliament. Whilst MEPs Tatjana Zdanoka (Greens/EFA, Latvia) and Csaba Tabajdi (S&D, Hungary) welcomed the initiative of the NGO Mother tongue to hold a referendum in favour of the Russian-speaking minority in Latvia, the EPP remains sceptical and defends the idea of keeping Latvian as the only official language.
“The preservation and development of national identity are vital for European nations, particularly in these times of globalisation (…) and language is a key element of this identity”, stressed Inese Vaidere (EPP, Latvia). Joseph Daul (France), chair of the EPP Group at the European Parliament, added that it is the “duty of citizens living in the same national community to learn the language of their country (…). In Latvia, the language is Latvian.”
The initiation of this referendum comes further to an initial petition launched in 2010 by the Latvian Conservative and Nationalist party - “For Fatherland and Freedom” - with a view to abolishing all forms of public teaching in the minority language. By initiative of the NGO Mother Tongue in November 2011, the new petition gathered nearly 200,000 signatures, or 10% of the population of Latvia.
By virtue of the framework Convention of the Council of Europe and the European Charter of regional or minority languages, the government and parliament of Latvia are not respecting the rights of the Russian-speaking minority, argues Csaba Tabajdi (S&D, Hungary), even though this represents nearly 40% of the linguistic community of Latvia. “The situation experienced by the Russian-speaking minority in Latvia is intolerable”, he said. However, Tabajdi pointed out that the Russian-speakers also have their responsibilities in this linguistic conflict, such as being able to speak Latvian fluently.
The Hungarian MEP called on the two linguistic communities to reach a compromise and find a modus vivendi allowing the “Russian-speaking minority to be integrated” into Latvian society. (SD, stag/transl.fl)