“Social cohesion should occur based on the state language!”
The former head of the National Council for Electronic Media and now the parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Ivars Abolins, expressed outrage on social media that, as it turns out, the Ministry of Culture decided to address citizens of several third countries in Russian.
"Children of residents of Pakistan and India, as well as other citizens of third countries, were addressed in Russian under the leadership of former minister Agnes Lace. We found out that a project administered by the ministry aimed at social cohesion, where almost 86,000 euros were invested, provided citizens of third countries the opportunity to study theatrical arts. The address to these children is also in Russian.
Moreover, a project has been implemented at the circus school offering children from third countries the chance to learn circus arts, and … again, the questionnaire is available in Russian.
It is worth noting that this concerns not only citizens of Russia - it is clearly stated that the target group also includes those arriving from Pakistan and India, whom, under Agnes Lace's leadership, it was decided to integrate into Latvian society by addressing them in Russian.
Social cohesion should occur based on the Latvian language, and it is unacceptable for newcomers to be immediately pushed into the Russian information space with state funds, essentially continuing the Russification that began during the Soviet occupation.
Under Agnes Lace's leadership, the fundamental principles of a cohesive and civically active society, which were established during the tenure of Naura Puntulis, have been ignored, clearly emphasizing that the unifying language in Latvia is Latvian.
The Constitution also clearly states that there is one official language in Latvia - Latvian," Ivars Abolins wrote on social media platform X.
