The Baltic Times published an editorial by Karlis Streips "Extremism in the Latvian Govern-ment" (TBT #425) in which he expresses his disappointment about the secretary hired by the foreign affairs committee, whose opinions differ from his opinions. According to the principles of the European Union, a decision to hire a person cannot be based on the person's opinions.
Neither participation in the Latvian National Front, which is an officially registered public organization, nor work in the DDD newspaper, which is also officially registered and accredited to work in the Saeima (Latvia's parliament), the Cabinet of Ministers and the president's office, does not give me a reason to discriminate against a person even if my opinions differ. In the office of the foreign commission people with various opinions work - even journalists from extreme Russian newspapers whose writings balance on the border of law.
I agree with Streips that we should scream if the Bundestag would hire Nazis, and it shouldn't be allowed in Latvia also. However, it would be good to know why Streips does not scream at Germany's red-green coalition where a number of former communists work. It seems that this time Streips' action was not motivated by liberalism in the U.S.A. but his personal situation. There-fore, I must disappoint him by stating that in the future, decisions not to hire employees will have to be enforced by a court decision. Karlis Streips is the only journalist known to me who was forced by a court decision to pay a penatly of 100 lats for ethical crimes.
I do hope that Streips in the future will scream more carefully.
Aleksandrs Kirsteins
Chairman of the Saeima
foreign affairs committee
