Today, the deputies of the Saeima began or rather — intended to begin the consideration of the initiative "from the people" on the revocation of the citizenship of the Republic of Latvia from disloyal residents of Latvia and their expulsion from the country.
It should be noted that this initiative was initially considered by the Saeima's Mandates, Ethics and Petitions Committee, which recommended that the proposal for revocation of citizenship and expulsion be considered substantively — in the Defense and Internal Affairs Committee, instead of rejecting it. However, yesterday the deputies refused to even discuss the initiative at the current plenary session — the issue was postponed for a week.
"Well, I don't know exactly how one can take it away. If this is the only citizenship, then what happens? Or, for example, if there is at least one citizen of Latvia who is not loyal to the Latvian state, will we revoke their citizenship? And where will we send them? I propose to vote against!" said deputy Linda Liepiņa.
"This is a collective statement from 10,507 citizens of Latvia that the Mandates, Ethics and Petitions Committee considered last week. Representatives from competent institutions were invited to the meeting — from the Ministry of the Interior, the Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office, and the State Security Service.
They explained that the current legal regulation is already sufficient for the competent authorities to adequately respond to an individual's disloyalty in the country or a threat to national security.
Moreover, they clarified that amendments had been made to the Citizenship Law after the initiative, providing for the revocation of citizenship for supporting aggressor states, provided that the individual does not become stateless. It is very important that revocation can only occur if the individual does not become stateless.
In turn, a representative of the State Security Service explained that alongside the Citizenship Law, loyalty criteria are also embedded in the Law on the Organization of Public Administration, and that the expulsion of Latvian citizens is impossible, as citizens have the right to return to the country. Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ombudsman’s Office, in turn, emphasized that the revocation of citizenship is a serious interference with an individual's fundamental rights and pointed out Latvia's international obligations," explained the chairman of the Mandates Committee, Jānis Vucāns (Union of Greens and Farmers).
It is unlikely that the matter will reach the adoption of any law on the revocation of citizenship and expulsion.
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