2024-04-19 12:39:41
The former Minister of Culture, now a member of the Saeima, Nauris Puntulis (NA), stated that the National Security Concept (NSC) is a document prepared on the basis of a national threat analysis, which defines the basic strategic principles and priorities for the prevention of national threats, which must be taken into account when developing new policy planning documents. legislation and action plans in the field of national security, thus implementing a targeted state policy to reduce threats to national security.
In September last year, the Saeima approved a new NDK. It stipulates, among other things, that from January 1, 2026, the content created by public media must be only in Latvian and in languages that belong to the European cultural space.
According to Puntulis, Logina, contrary to what is stipulated in the concept, has repeatedly expressed her opinion in the media about the need to ensure the content created by public media in Russian.
“By refusing to comply fully with what the NDK said, the minister not only refuses to comply with the decision of the Saeima, but also confirms that she has not correctly understood the spirit or essence of this document,” the opposition politician believes, claiming that it is also misleading to say that the concept is in conflict with the Constitution or the Public electronic media management law. It states that public media create programs in minority languages, but this law does not indicate how many and exactly in which minority languages the content can be created, Puntulis said.
The parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Culture (MoC) Agnese Lāce (P) pointed out that NA led the MoC for more than ten years, during which it was possible to solve “these issues that are so important to this political force this year and so suddenly”. However, according to her, “stronger than the desire to solve these uncomfortable issues was the choice to postpone them, keep them silent, not touch them”.
Lāce emphasized that KM undertakes to fulfill the NDK and the priorities contained in it for the prevention of the threat posed to the Latvian information space. The point of the NDK that the content created by the public media should be only in Latvian and in languages belonging to the European cultural space, would mean to abandon not only the Russian language, but also content in, for example, Belarusian and Armenian. Lāce noted that the State President, the Public Electronic Media Council and the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) also pointed out the inconsistency of such a complete ban on certain minority languages.
The representative of the Ministry of Culture stated that minorities, by their definition, are citizens of Latvia, not every foreigner. According to the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, the Minister of Culture has been “courageous” to clearly state that the Russian language, as a minority language, must be represented in the public media. At the same time, Logina agreed that the dominance of the Russian language should be reduced and that this process has already started, emphasized Lāce.
Deputy Aleksejs Roslikovs (“Stability”) claimed that it is being forgotten that Latvia is a free country, and the Minister of Culture is fighting for it, so “Stability” will not support a vote of no confidence.
Login party member Atis Švinka (P), who is the head of the Media Policy subcommittee of the Saeima, does not see “any rational basis” for the resignation request. The politician pointed out that many sessions in the subcommittee have been devoted to the issue of language in public media and in the media space, and all those involved had a consensus. Shvinka believes that we are still in the process of creating a unified information space, so the issue of minority language content is a strategic issue of community unification, not “a matter of bureaucratically set dates”.
Deputy Ināra Mūrniece (NA) believes that some opponents use the term “minority” in order not to say “Russian language” directly in the text. The opposition MP noted, among other things, that a number of countries that have signed the Minorities Convention state that minorities are only those nations that have lived in the respective country historically, or at least for a hundred years. According to Mūrniece, before the Soviet occupation, the number of Russians in Latvia was eight percent, and this is not comparable to the number that is today.
“Latvija first” (Latvija first) MP Vilis Kristopans emphasized that NA is currently unfairly attacking the Minister of Culture, because they themselves “tricked” the point about language in NDK.
Deputy Česlavs Batņa (AS) pointed to problems not only in the Ministry of the Interior, but also in the leadership of the Ministry of Climate and Energy and the Ministry of Education and Science, thus concluding that Prime Minister Evikas Siliņa’s (JV) promise of a government of professionals has not been fulfilled with regard to some ministers. Regarding Login, Batņa expressed his belief that the “Progressives” have better candidates who could occupy the position of Minister of Culture.
Batņa criticized that Logina “raised her hand first, supporting” Jāzeps Vītola’s “illegal call” to the rector of the Latvian Music Academy (JVLMA) council, Guntars Prānis, to resign. Since it has now been concluded that the JVLMA council violated its powers, the “United List” politician would expect Logina to call on the JVLMA council to resign as well. But “the minister is silent” about that, so Batņa rhetorically asked what kind of professionalism can be talked about.
The politician also expressed his concern that the position of rector of JVLMA has already been reserved for someone else. Batņa emphasized that he condemns violence, including sexual violence, but opposes the “lynching” of the former head of JVLMA, the father of the family.
Deputy Edvīns Šnore (NA) emphasized that the government’s policy creates unacceptable ideas that it is necessary to speak Russian to the doctor, in the store and elsewhere, and that if you want to work in Latvia, you have to learn Russian.
Commenting on the argument that loyal content in Russian is needed, Shnore asked if this means that without state money, loyal content in Russian would not be created. The NA politician then called for it to be clearly stated and also to draw the attention of the security authorities.
Commenting on NA’s accusations against Logina regarding the use of the Russian language in public media, MP Ainārs Šlesers (LPV) emphasized that Russian speakers also make up the nation of Latvia. The LPV leader played one of the Russian propagandists for a few seconds from the podium of the Saeima, thereby emphasizing that such content requires an alternative, Latvian-produced content in Russian.
2024-04-19 12:39:41