NATO demands change in law

RIGA - NATO Secretary General George Robertson warned Latvian lawmakers on Feb. 22 to scrap language requirements for political candidates, or risk not being invited to join the alliance this fall.

In a strongly worded speech to the Latvian Parliament, Robertson said the law, which requires candidates for political office to speak fluent Latvian, does not conform with NATO's political standards.

"NATO nations will be watching very closely what you do this year in relation to the election law so that it conforms to standards held throughout NATO countries," he said.

Robertson spoke to the Parliament during a two-day trip to Latvia and Lithuania.

He joined U.S. foreign policy officials in calling on Latvia to change the law, a request that has also been supported by President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

But the request has found resistance in Parliament, where some politicians have argued the law ensures that dialogue within the legislature will be in Latvian.

Prime Minister Andris Berzins said the three-party coalition government began debating changes to the law last week.

"It will be changed," he said. "We understand how important it is for Latvia."

But the coalition parties can't yet agree on how it will be changed, said Guntars Krasts, chairman of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"We must have an open, public discussion about this, otherwise the public will just think it was a back room deal with international politicians. Unless we do, it won't change the public's perception of NATO," he said.

Krasts and others from the right-wing For Fatherland Freedom party say it is important that Latvia maintains some requirements for language proficiency for elected officials.

State law currently requires government employees to speak fluent Latvian.

"There cannot be a difference between civil servants and politicians," said Krasts.

The issue has been clouded by pre-election posturing within the Parliament. Elections are scheduled for Oct. 6, a few weeks before the NATO summit in Prague.

Foreign Minister Indulis Berzins is also pushing for the law to be changed, saying there are other measures to regulate language use.

"There are other ways we can protect the Latvian language," he said. "This is the point."

The law attracted international attention last summer when the United Nations Human Rights Committee upheld a claim by Antonina Ignatane, an ethnic Russian who was struck from the list of candidates for Riga City Council in 1997 after a surprise language test just before the election.Language examiners said Ignatane's Latvian skills did not meet the election laws' requirements, though she held a government-issued language proficiency certificate.

The case helped prompt NATO to examine the issue.

Though the requirements to join NATO are largely military, the alliance also considers political standards. Those standards are being examined more closely as the alliance prepares to announce new members in November, Robertson said.

"That is why the heat will be on, why you cannot afford to be in any way complacent," he said. "Every minute is going to count, every standard is going to be examined and everything you do will come under the spotlight."