RIGA - Without any debate, Parliament rejected the government's proposed bill on compensating Latvia's Jewish community for property lost during WWII and the following Soviet occupation. The bill envisaged paying almost 32 million lats (45.53 million euros) to Jewish organizations in 10 years.
Twelve lawmakers supported forwarding the bill to Parliament, while six lawmakers voted against and 67 lawmakers abstained. The legislation was supported by six members of the leftist alliance For Human Rights in United Latvia and six Harmony Center lawmakers. The largest part of the nationalist For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK faction and Uldis Augulis from the Greens and Farmers' Union (ZZS) voted against the bill.
All the coalition parties 's People's Party, Latvia's First Party/Latvia's Way, Greens and Farmers' Union, some representatives of For Fatherland and Freedom, and the opposition New Era abstained and 11 Harmony Center lawmakers did not participate in the vote.
Harmony Center member Boriss Cilevics and Nils Usakovs later announced that they had made a mistake and wanted to support the bill. The information will be included on the protocol.
People's Party faction leader Maris Kucinskis told the press that the bill had "no legal grounds," and that it had not been discussed properly with non-governmental organizations. He added that there had been no discussions within the party either.
Kucinskis said that discussions had been launched only in recent weeks and were still unfinished.
"Abstention cannot be eternal, once the decision will have to be made," said Kucinskis.
On Nov. 6, the Latvian government supported a draft proposal of providing almost 32 million lats in support to Latvia's Jewish community to be paid in 10 years. The legislation would serve to "compensate for the historically unfair consequences suffered by the Jewish community due to the Nazi Holocaust and Soviet occupation regime" in the territory of Latvia.
Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis (People's Party) said the ministers had to make a political decision as society requires Latvia to look into the issue surrounding the compensation of Holocaust victims. A total of 31.95 million lats are planned to be allocated.
"Latvia owns property that belonged to people who died in the Holocaust. The Jewish people require the return of these properties in one or another way. We cannot avoid solving this question. Money compensation is the only legally possible way of covering these losses. The agreements reached between the Jewish community and the Latvian state are the most acceptable ones," said Kalvitis.
The government plans to gradually pay the allocated money from 2007 until 2016. The Jewish community will be able to use the allocated funds for renewing and preserving their cultural heritage, developing the Jewish community, financing culture, education and other events, and ensuring social assistance to low-income members of the community and Holocaust victims. The money should not be used for business purposes.
The draft proposal also envisages returning properties that belonged to Jewish organizations before the Soviet occupation, such as former synagogues. Coalition factions decided to abstain in the vote.
