Ukraine supports Latvia in a question of recognition of the Russian language as the state one

On February, 10th, picket has passed in Kiev at the building of embassy of Latvia in support of the referendum spent in Latvia about giving of the status of the second state language to the Russian which will pass on February 18, 2012. The picket initiators were the active workers of political club “Alternative” and the movement “the Russian Block”. The participants of picket have established the banner “Latvia, vote for the Russian!”, the leaflets and newspapers were distributed among the passers-by.

The embassy of Latvia has reacted to the carried out picket wildly and hysterically – in the traditions of foreign policy of Latvia. The strengthened police has appeared near the embassy door for the period of picket carrying out. Possibly, the diplomats were afraid of storm. And the issue of visas has been suspended. The motivation of this action isn't clear – possibly to anticipate the penetration of spies-Russophiles from among holding a meeting on the territory of Latvia?

The referendum organization in Latvia was accompanied by numerous provocations and protests from the Latvian politicians. The signature collection has begun in March, 2011, as response to attempt of the referendum organization by the nationalist association “All for Latvia!” (VL-TB/LNNK), in which the demand was made of transfer of all public schools of national minorities completely on the Latvian language of training and the interdiction of any other languages. The nationalists couldn't collect the necessary quantity of signatures, but have received the powerful response from the Russian-speaking population of Latvia – already in September 2011 the signatures have been collected even more than it was required in support of the referendum about the Russian language.

The reaction of the Latvian politicians to the carrying out of this referendum borders with the hysterics. The nationalists threaten the deputies of the Seim that they will break a deputy oath in case of acceptance of the bills which have been taken out on national voting. “To be true to Latvia, to fix its sovereignty and the Latvian language as unique state” - here so tolerantly, democratically this oath sounds in the European country of Latvia. The president of Latvia has expressed even more clearly – the voting for change of the status of a state language is voting against Latvia as the state.
The participants of picket have especially noticed that referendum carrying out in Latvia is the result of fine self-organizing of the Russian community in struggle for the rights. The Russian world often accuses the Russians living in other countries of the weak organization. Therefore the experience of Latvia is the major example first of all for the Russian-speaking majority of the population in Ukraine where the politicians speculate on giving of the status of the second state language to the Russian during the decades and instead of it spend the Russophobic, Ukrainization policy.

The active workers have expressed the support to the Russian-speaking population of Latvia and have called for elimination of artificial contradictions which are created by the politicians between fraternal people not only in Latvia, but also in other countries of the former USSR.

On February, 15th the organization “Citizens Union of Ukraine” has organized one more picket at embassy of Latvia under the motto ““Yes” to the Russian language!”. This time the embassy was protected not only by the additional police squad, but also employees of the Security Service of Ukraine. The action was supported by all participants of the first picket on February, 10. The active worker of “Citizens Union of Ukraine” Alexey Natalenko has noticed that “the people of Latvia struggle for equality of two languages in the country and also against such negative and barbarous phenomenon as a category “non-citizens” in the European allied Latvia”. On February, 18th, in the day of referendum carrying out, the active workers of the Russian organizations will gather again at embassy to support a choice of the Russian-speaking inhabitants of Latvia.