As Estonia and Latvia prepare for European Union accession, both governments are eager to see the removal of their respective missions - commonly associated with doubts about a country's ability to function as a democracy. But the head of the Latvia mission, Peter Semneby, said the OSCE would not compromise its standards.
Andrejs Pildegovics, foreign policy adviser to Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, expressed confidence that the decision to prolong the work of the Latvia mission would be the last of its kind and it would close on Dec. 31.
"As far as our government and the mission is concerned, its mandate is very close to completion," he said. "The government has technically implemented all necessary steps for its closure."
To back this claim, Pildegovics cited recent changes which lower the fee payable by non-citizens who wish to become citizens. He also highlighted another recent change, by which those graduating from school with a Latvian language certificate need not pass the language exam administered by the state's Naturalization Board - previously a requirement for all those wanting to become citizens.
But, cautioned Semneby, closure of the mission is "not a foregone conclusion." The OSCE must see a commitment to a sustained effort to integrate Latvian society, he said.
"We're not striving for a static goal. This is a dynamic process, which will last forever. It is necessary to get the direction right."
According to recent statistics from the Naturalization Board, 24 percent of Latvia's population are non-citizen residents, who were not granted citizenship when the country's independence was restored, because they, or their ancestors, came to Latvia during the Soviet period.
In order to encourage further integration, the OSCE will undertake various projects with the Naturalization Board and the United Nations Development Project in the second half of this year. These will include free language training and a campaign to encourage people to become citizens. The campaign will have a budget of at least $200,000.
"It is necessary to give all 550,000 non-citizens all the information they need to make an informed choice on obtaining citizenship," said Semneby.
"There is currently a lot of uncertainty about what that choice means, due to lack of trust in state institutions - something which is seen both among citizens and non-citizens.
"According to the Naturalization Board, 20 percent of non-citizens have said they want to apply for citizenship and a further 20 percent would like to do so in the future. This represents 200,000 people in total. The remaining 60 percent are probably beyond the reach of campaigns like this, but maybe some will apply."
He added that Latvia's language law - which regulates language use in various areas - fulfills "international minimal requirements," but changes are still necessary to regulations stipulating the language skills required of election candidates.
"Our position is that these requirements are not justified," he said. "It is the sovereign right of the voter to elect a representative, whoever he wants, who may be handicapped in any way."
Leonid Raihman, chairman of the Latvian Human Rights Committee, which campaigns on behalf of Latvia's national minorities, said the OSCE mission should remain in Latvia until 2004, when, under a new education law, Russian-language schools will begin to be phased out.
The phase-out would result in "growing tension between the two parts of society," he said.
He added that pensioners should not have to take history and language exams in order to become citizens and also called for the abolition of a ban on former KGB officers and members of the Soviet administration becoming citizens.
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