Saturday, 11 December 1999

December 11, 1999

Latvian Link
News
Picture Album

AOL Lat Chat for December 12, 1999 - and more Date: 12/11/99 11:51:15 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: Sturgalve

DL Time (32000 bps): < 1 minute

Everyone is no doubt busy shopping, making dough for piparkukas, and in general getting ready for the holiday rush. Hopefully some of you will take a break from all the running around and join us Sunday night from approximately 9pm EST until 10:30-11pm for Latvian chat. You can join the chat by using the following link:
Town Square - Latvian chat . [works on AOL only]
Please read on....we have Gunars' link, LOTS of news, and our own picture contribution for your downloading pleasure... the stock exchange in Riga over 100 years ago! Hope to see you on the chat...

Ar visu labu,

Latvian Link

LATVIAN PHOTOS Something a little lighter! This is a photographer from Latvia who periodically puts a new set of pics up on his site. Myself–I prefer Peters' pics–but the more the merrier! —Gunars

	Latvian Photos
	http://vip.parks.lv/fotoparks/1999/foto/foto0799.htm

News

A busy week in the news...

• The sad news confirming sailors lost at sea off Liepaja
• Berzins presses EU and NATO to integrate Latvia to show Russia the Baltics are no longer in their sphere of influence
• Russia complains again, now, that the new Latvian language law is openly discriminatory
• Belarus decides to reunite (“Birds of a feather flock together?”) with Russia
• Offensive graffiti is painted on the Latvian embassy in Moscow
• An in-depth article on the Belarus-Russia union; Belarus and Russia to protect Russia's western flank from Riga in the north to Odessa in the south. (Don't worry, Russia, Latvia won't attack—what would she do with that mess once she conquered it?!?!)
• The EU invites Lithuania and Latvia to entry talks; Russia attempts to be the spoiler
• The Latvian Embassy press release regarding the invitation
• The IMF issues a 16-month credit of $45 million for Latvia for its 2000 economic program

RIGA, Dec 5 (Reuters)—Officials at Latvia's Liepaja port said on Sunday hopes had dimmed of finding survivors among the six-man crew of a fishing vessel that capsized in a weekend storm and was battered by waves against an embankment.
"It would be naive to hope of finding anyone alive but we...still have to find them and the search operation will continue tomorrow morning," one official said.
A team combing wreckage of the 25 metre Latvian-registered Sniegs has found no survivors or bodies so far.
Big waves flipped the 85 tonne vessel over early on Saturday and left it inaccessible for most of the weekend to search and rescue officials, who had hoped crew members might survive in air pockets of the overturned hull despite the icy seas.
The storm forced the closure of Latvia's three main ports, which reopened early on Sunday, and left several hundred homes without power in western areas.
©1999 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.

RIGA, Dec 6 (Reuters)—The European Union and NATO must integrate the Baltic states more quickly to show Russia they are no longer in its sphere of influence, Latvian Foreign Minister Andris Berzinsh said on Monday.
"The states of the EU and NATO must send a clear message on the full integration of the Baltic states once and for all," Berzinsh told a conference on the European Union.
This message would ease the Baltic states' relations with Moscow "and would help Russians themselves – to understand what the future is bringing, and allow Russians to prepare for the next challenges," he said.
He urged both the EU and NATO to speed up expansion but said neither should compromise its admission standards.
Berzinsh also told the conference, on the EU's vaguely defined Northern Dimension initiative aimed at boosting cooperation between the bloc's northernmost states and Russia, that Moscow's Chechen war "had put European and Russian value systems on a collision course."
EU leaders meet in Helsinki on December 10-12 to decide strategy on a number of issues for next year, including enlargement of the 15-nation bloc and giving the European Commission a mandate to form a Northern Dimension action plan.
Baltic neighbours Latvia and Lithuania – along with Romania, Malta, Slovakia and Bulgaria – are widely expected to receive invitations to entry talks after the summit.
Estonia, economically the most advanced of the Baltics, began accession negotiations in 1998. All three Baltic countries were turned down by NATO when it took in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary earlier this year.
©1999 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.

MOSCOW, December 7 (Itar-Tass)—Russia calls on the Latvian parliament deputies to vote for amendments in the state language law, which will ease "the bill openly discriminating ethnic minorities," spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Rakhmanin said at a briefing on Tuesday.
There is a danger of making inconsiderable corrections in the law, which will not change its essence, under the pressure of national-radical deputies, he noted. "That is likely to result in even tougher norms of by-laws as against the state language bill itself," the diplomat stressed.
"At a plenary meeting of the Sejm on December 9 the deputies will have to make an important choice. Latvia will either look in the eyes of the international community like a country of high European standards, the adherence to which is announced so often. Or it will look like a country holding a cynical policy of the assimilation of numerous ethnic communities, which make almost a half of its population," Rakhmanin said.
yer/dro ©1999

Moscow, Dec 08, 1999 (EFE via COMTEX)—Belarus President Alexandr Lukashenko said Wednesday that combined military forces of his country and Russia would go nose-to-nose against NATO on the Atlantic Alliance's eastern flank now that the "Allied State of Russia and Belarus" has been created.
The treaty of alliance he signed with his Russian counterpart, Boris Yeltsin would allow Belarus to defend "our" western borders "from Riga down to Kiev, or rather all the way down to Odessa".
Riga, however, is in Latvia and Kiev and Odessa are part of the Ukraine, both former Soviet republics. Latvia, in fact, is anxious to join NATO.
Belarus is bordered by Lithuania and Latvia on the north, the Ukraine on the south, Russia in the east and on the west with Poland, which recently became a member of NATO.
Lukashenko and Yeltsin chose the eighth anniversary of the break-down of the Soviet Union to sign a decree uniting their countries into a single "allied state".
"This alliance is not directed against anyone, not even (U.S. President Bill) Clinton," Yeltsin said, in a dig at criticism from abroad alleging the alliance is a first step in the reconstruction of the Russian-dominated empire that emerged under the Czarist and Soviet regimes.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged "this will not be the final step in a process of integration" that began in 1996, when the two nations set up a binational "community" which a year later was superseded by a "union".
EFE msv/bl ©1999. Agencia EFE S.A. http://www.efe.es

RIGA, Dec 8 (Reuters)—Latvia said on Wednesday it had lodged a protest with Moscow after the Baltic state's embassy in the Russian capital was covered with offensive graffiti.
"We have asked the Russian side not to allow such incidents, to investigate this incident, and to find those responsible," Latvian foreign ministry state secretary Maris Riekstinsh told a news conference.
Riekstinsh said the Latvian embassy in Moscow had been covered with graffiti "offensive to the Latvian state" on Tuesday night.
He linked the incident to the start of the case of partisan Vassili Kononov, who is being tried in connection with his role in the killing of nine people in 1944 when he was commander of a World War Two communist guerrilla group in Latvia.
©1999 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.

(Updates after Lukashenko news conference)
By Ron Popeski
MOSCOW, Dec 8 (Reuters)—Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus signed a treaty on Wednesday to merge their two former Soviet nations, defying widespread scepticism and doubt.
But despite the ceremony, laden with pomp in the Moscow Kremlin, Lukashenko acknowledged the pact in its present form amounted to little more than a declaration of principles.
The run-up to the signing, postponed last month when Yeltsin fell ill, has been marked by increased scepticism, with the pact seen as void of substance.
Russian regional heads are suspicious it will curtail their powers and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma poured scorn on it.
"The documents signed in the Kremlin are of monumental importance. We are not pursuing here any aims of political expediency," said Yeltsin, who spoke in slightly laboured fashion and teetered slowly at one point.
The president, due to leave later for two days of talks in China, said the treaty "is not aimed against anybody, not even against (U.S. President Bill) Clinton."
Lukashenko, an ardent advocate of the pact since his 1994 election, said the Slav neighbours were on the path towards other agreements on creating a true union.
"The meaning of this step cannot be overstated. We have only begun to create a united state," he said. Both sides had fought off "unfounded criticism, furious attacks and blatant lies."
TIME AND EFFORT NEEDED
But at a later news conference, the flamboyant Lukashenko said time and effort were required to move towards a merger.
"We did not sign an agreement about a unified state as Belarus proposed but about the creation of a unified state," he said. "Essentially this treaty does not change anything radically, but leaves the way open for many possibilities."
He said opposition to the treaty was rooted in right-wing pro-Western forces in Russia.
The ceremony took place exactly eight years after Yeltsin and the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus signed a treaty in 1991 which triggered the end of the Soviet Union within weeks.
The treaty has been under discussion since 1996, when the two men signed an earlier pact in an equally solemn ceremony.
Its provisions include joint institutions, harmonisation of legislation and, eventually, a common currency.
Lukashenko said both sides had also agreed to form a joint army group "to protect Russia's western approaches" from Riga in the Baltic state of Latvia to Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odessa. This would consolidate defence efforts and save money.
In Minsk, small groups of nationalists blocked traffic briefly on the city's main thoroughfare to denounce the treaty as a betrayal of Belarus's post-Soviet independence.
Marchers chanting "Belarus lives!" were removed by police amid minor scuffles. There was no repeat of violence which marred a 20,000-strong protest against the pact in October.
UPSET AT DELAY
Lukashenko had taken exception to the delay in signing the latest pact, particularly when Yeltsin received Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma after leaving hospital on Monday.
But he told reporters Yeltsin had been in a "good and bold mood" and suggested he ought to take an additional week off work rather than maintain a work schedule including the China trip.
Ruslan Aushev, President of Ingushetia, a region adjacent to Chechnya, where Russia is engaged in a three-month-old military offensive, voiced deep suspicion over the pact.
"Russia is not as much of a monolith as Belarus," he told RIA news agency. "We have to know whether new structures will harm the constitutional rights of areas in the federation.
Kuchma was more forthright.
"We do not play this game," he told the Paris daily Le Monde. "It is the sovereign right of the Russian and Belarussian peoples to unite. But I believe Russia will suffer great losses from this union."
Yugoslav ambassador Borislav Milosevic, brother of President Slobodan Milosevic, repeated his country's desire to join a future union as approved by Belgrade's parliament in April.
©1999 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.

(Updates with ambassador, refreshes quotes throughout)
By Burton Frierson
RIGA, Dec 10 (Reuters)—The Baltic states welcomed the European Union's decision on Friday to invite Latvia and Lithuania to entry talks but Riga called in Russia's ambassador to object to Moscow's efforts to spoil its bid.
"This is a historical day for Latvia which proves that we have returned to where we belong, that Latvia has returned to Europe, and Europe is ready to accept Latvia among its members," Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga told a news conference.
She said Latvia would have to work hard to meet EU standards but could catch up with countries already in entry talks.
Latvia and Lithuania were stung by the EU's 1997 decision to relegate them to a second-tier group of candidates although neighbour Estonia was invited into entry talks along with the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Cyprus.
But celebrations were marred by Russia's attempt to convince the EU to exclude Latvia minutes before the 15-nation bloc's announcement it would start entry talks with Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Malta.
LATVIA CALLS RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO TASK
Latvia's Foreign Ministry called in Russian ambassador Aleksandr Udaltsov to object to Moscow's claims of discrimination against the Russian minority, one-third of the country's population.
"It was indicated to the ambassador that Latvia views this statement as clear meddling in Latvian internal affairs," it said in a statement after Udaltsov met Latvian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Maris Riekshinsh.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying a language law approved on Thursday aimed at protecting the Latvian language after 50 years of Russian domination was the latest in a series of what Moscow sees as official acts of discrimination.
Russia has opposed the Baltics' aspirations to join NATO since they regained independence in 1991, but this was the first time it had spoken out against any of their EU ambitions.
"I am really surprised that a country that regrettably has huge problems of its own has the nerve to describe (our) situation as a humanitarian catastrophe," Latvian Foreign Minister Indulis Berzinsh told Reuters.
Lithuania welcomed the EU's decision as recognition of eight years of democratic reforms and painful economic restructuring.
"We look forward to completing negotiations during the year 2002. We also hope that as we advance our homework, the appropriate institutional adjustments will be introduced within the EU itself so as not to delay the enlargement process." Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Vygaudas Ushackas told Reuters.
A spokesman for Estonia's Foreign Ministry said bringing Latvia and Lithuania into talks would ease its negotiations since the three share a free trade agreement.
©1999 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved.

PRESS RELEASE, December 10, 1999 (Latvian Embassy)—LATVIA INVITED TO START EUROPEAN UNION ACCESSION TALKS, PRAISED FOR THE NEW LANGUAGE LAW

At their Summit in Helsinki on Friday, December 10, leaders of the European Union decided to start membership negotiations with the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, along with Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Malta. Latvia welcomed this decision which was made despite an attempt by Russia to prevent it.

While European institutions also praised the newly adopted Latvian Language Law, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged the EU not to invite Latvia to join the Union citing the law as an act of discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of Latvia.

In fact, Latvia's Language law, adopted on December 9, is aimed at further integration of Latvian society and was praised by all European institutions as a positive development:

• Council of Europe (CE) Secretary General Walter Schwimmer hailed the law and voiced readiness to continue extending assistance to Latvia in area of social integration.

• Guenther Verheugen, EU Commissioner responsible for enlargement, issued a statement expressing "satisfaction that Latvia has thus followed recommendations made by the Commission. He stated that the newly adopted law "represents an important step towards striking the right balance between protecting Latvia's national and cultural heritage and aspiring to the high standards prevailing in the European family of nations."

• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel also said that the law adopted by the Latvian parliament is in conformity with Latvia's international obligations.

On December 10, 1999 the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maris Riekstins invited the Russian Ambassador in Latvia Mr. Udaltsov, and strongly pointed out that Latvia considers Russian actions to be a bold intervention into Latvia’s internal affairs, aimed at putting obstacles to the process of social integration in Latvia.

Inconceivable is the Russian Federation's appeal to the opinion of the international community at the time when Russia itself ignores the position of that very community with regard to the gross human rights violations in Chechnya.

The Ministry once again called on Russia to find a political solution to the conflict in Chechnya and avoid further casualties among civilian civilians.

WASHINGTON (Dec. 10) XINHUA—The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on Friday a 16-month Stand-By credit of 45 million U.S. dollars for Latvia to support the government's 2000 economic program.
The government of Latvia does not intend to make drawings under the Sand-By credit and will treat it as precautionary, the IMF said.
"Directors welcomed the Latvian authorities' resolve to return to a path of prudent fiscal policies and to complete a well- focussed structural reform agenda under the requested stand-by arrangement," IMF Deputy Managing Director Shigemitsu Sugisaki said in a statement.
"This policy stance, coupled with a continued tight monetary policy, is expected to lay the foundation for durable growth driven by the private sector and to ensure that Latvia's external position remains sustainable," Sugisaki said.
The IMF said the impact of the Russian crisis on Latvia's trade and financial sectors has been more severe than expected earlier, but it appears that the economy has bottomed out.
The country's real gross domestic product is expected to grow by about 1 percent this year and 4 percent in 2000. Inflation is expected to remain subdued at about 3 percent during 1999-2000.
Enditem 10/12/99 21:37 GMT ©1999

Picture Album

Another picture from yester-year, from Riga just before the turn of the last century. Here's a picture of the Riga bourse (stock exchange) in Old Riga.

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