Government to move fast with restricting Russian language in public space, ending linguistic discrimination in job market

RIGA - The government has resolved to move fast with legislative amendments to restrict use of Russian language in public space and ending linguistic discrimination in the job market, said National Alliance's board member Janis Dombrava and Justice Minister Janis Bordans (Conservatives) after the coalition meeting today.

The Justice Ministry has prepared a proposal for solving these matters, said Dombrava. The coalition supported the proposal.

Bordans said that the legislative amendments will strengthen the status of the Latvian language as the only official language in Latvia de facto, and not only "on paper".

Dombrava said that this matter had been one of the priorities of the National Alliance for a long time already, which so far "has not been heard by other partners". It should be understood that Latvia is not and will not be a part of Russia," he said.

As reported, despite the fact that all residents of Latvia have the opportunity to use the official language on a daily basis, in practice, all Latvians are required to know the Russian language in very different situations, including it is also a frequent requirement in job advertisements, Bordans explained earlier.

"This must be stopped, except for certain cases that will be provided in the law. But it is important for society to know that the Latvian language should be used for communication between businesses, as well as for communication in workplaces," said Bordans.