Members of the State Duma at a plenary meeting on Friday, December 17, adopted a draft statement “On the inadmissibility of discrimination against Russian compatriots in the Republic of Latvia”. The document was introduced by members of the LDPR faction.
“Members of the State Duma strongly condemn the policy of the authorities of the Republic of Latvia aimed at suppressing the rights of Russian compatriots living in the state,” the statement says.
The parliamentarians recalled that on November 11, the Latvian Saeima introduced a ban on the use of St. George ribbons attending entertainment and public events, processions, pickets and meetings.
“The ban on the use and wearing of the St. George ribbon, one of the main symbols of the Great Victory over Nazism, violates the rights and freedoms of our compatriots and divides the Latvian society according to national and ideological principles,” the document emphasizes.
Members of the State Duma stressed that the Latvian authorities continued their attempts to rehabilitate Nazi criminals and their henchmen represented by local collaborators.
In addition, the statement says that “in order to destroy the people's memory and distort the truth about historical events of the past, which today have special political significance, there are unprecedented measures aimed at crowding out Russian education, the Russian language from the information and educational space of this Baltic republic.”
“Such a policy of the authorities of the Republic of Latvia directly violates the principles and norms of international law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,” the authors of the statement stressed.
“Members of the State Duma consider the ongoing discriminatory actions of the Latvian authorities, as well as other countries, against Russian compatriots unacceptable and reserve the right to take the necessary measures according to the provisions of Part 3 of Article 69 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in order to provide comprehensive support to compatriots living abroad , to protect their rights and interests and preserve the all-Russian cultural identity,” emphasized the parliamentarians.
The statement will be sent to the President of the Russian Federation, to the Federation Council of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, CSTO PA, IPA CIS, PACE and OSCE PA.
