Latvija in brief - 2011-04-07

State loan issues must be dealt with by official institutions that have the right to represent the populace, and not by Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs (For Latvia and Ventspils), who has been charged with serious crimes, Amnesty International-Delna Chairwoman Inese Voika said, reports LETA. If a constructive dialogue with the Cabinet of Ministers and the Finance Ministry is not possible, then there is a supervisor - Saeima, added Voika. On April 5, Delna was prepared to meet with the international lenders, representatives of the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund to find out the reasons behind the April 6 meeting with Lembergs. Delna expected to receive an explanation from the lenders about their decision, and confirmation that they would not go back on the principles of good governance and corruption prevention. The review mission of the European Commission and International Monetary Fund began its work in Riga on April 5.

On March 30 the European Council’s Committee of Ministers adopted a resolution on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Latvia, reports LETA. Therefore, the first monitoring stage of the implementation of the Framework Convention in Latvia has concluded. The Committee of Ministers lauded Latvia’s progress in social integration and protection of national minority rights, including the development of national minorities’ cultural identity and ethnic uniqueness. Latvia has also ensured a state-financed bilingual training in eight minority languages, and attributed the rights to non-citizens in compliance with the convention. According to the Foreign Ministry, the Committee of Ministers acknowledged that the Latvian language is a legitimate instrument for social integration. The next monitoring stage will start at the end-2011. The Framework Convention came into force in Latvia on Oct. 1, 2005. 39 out of 47 European Council member states have ratified the convention.

A Latvian woman will stand trial starting April 4 for the brutal murder of a senior citizen in Australia, reports Latvians Online. Angelika Gavare, 35, is charged with slaying 83-year-old pensioner Vonne McGlynn. Parts of McGlynn’s dismembered body were found in February 2009, two months after she was reported missing. However, the victim’s head has not been found. Gavare, who in April 2010 pleaded not guilty to the charge, is alleged to have killed McGlynn, putting parts of the body in plastic bags and using a child’s stroller to transport them to a creek not far from her house in Christie Downs, a suburb of Adelaide. McGlynn’s body was identified by a serial number on an artificial hip. After undergoing psychological tests in 2010, Gavare was declared fit for trial. Gavare, a mother of two, has also been accused of stealing the identities of a number of elderly people. She is a recent immigrant to Australia.