Subj: Latvian Mailer for Sunday, October 29, 2000
Date: 00.10.28
File: D:\+www.latvians.com\Jul2000\Picts\6019-02-alsviki-abol-koks.jpg (69871 bytes)
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Sveiki, all!

Well, we finally got around to developing our vacation pictures! (Only three months late!) We're already looking back to summer with nostalgia, wishing we had more time to spend in Latvia!

There are two links this week. First, is a link to a Latvian language page. Also, look through the news for the web cam link in the Latvian foreign ministry!

In the news:

• Kalejs arrest is approved in court
• SEB ups its buyout offers for Baltic banks
• Web cam installed in Latvian foreign ministry
• Delta and Czech airlines file for code-share approvals, would add regular route to Riga via Prague

This week's picture is of one of a Latvian apple tree, from our vacation this summer.

Remember, mailer or not, Lat Chat spontaneously appears every Sunday on AOL starting around 9:00/9:30pm Eastern time, lasting until 11:00/11:30pm. AOL'ers can follow this link: Town Square - Latvian chat. And thanks to you participating on the Latvian message board as well: Click here: LATVIA (both on AOL only).

Ar visu labu,

IN ACCORDANCE WITH AOL'S MAIL POLICY and good manners, please let Silvija (Silvija) know if you wish to be deleted from our mailing list. Past mailers are archived at latvians.com. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

This week's link is to the Latvian Language page at the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Lab at the University of Latvia:

    The Latvian Language
    (http://ai1.mii.lu.lv/home1.htm)

Copyright 2000 Reuters Ltd.
By Burton Frierson

    RIGA, Oct 23 (Reuters) — A Latvian court said on Monday it would allow prosecutors to order the arrest of an elderly Nazi-era war crimes and genocide suspect living in Australia.
    Prosecutors said this meant they could now move to secure the extradition of 87-year-old Konrads Kalejs in hopes of having him sent back to stand trial in his native Latvia. Kalejs holds Australian citizenship and lives in Melbourne.
    "Our next step will be to translate the court's decision (into English), to prepare all of the necessary documents and to send them to the Australian side," a spokeswoman for the prosecutor general's office told Reuters.
    "In this way the extradition procedure will be started."
    The same court that decided on Monday to allow Kalejs's arrest had rejected the prosecutors' request in September for a warrant, saying there was no evidence he was evading investigation.
    "The prosecutors have requested to apply arrest as a security measure (in Kalejs's case), and the court satisfied this request," a court official told Reuters.
    Prosecutors announced on September 28 that they had filed charges against Latvian-born Kalejs stemming from his time as an alleged commander of a concentration camp guard during the Nazi occupation of Latvia in World War Two.
    Kalejs has previously denied Nazi hunters' charges that he aided the wartime slaughter of Jews. Kalejs's lawyers have seven days to appeal the court's decision to allow his arrest.
    Latvia has no extradition treaty with Australia, but parliament is expected to approve one by the year's end.
    KALEJS WOULD BE FIRST, CAN APPEAL AGAINST EXTRADITION
    If extradited, Kalejs would be the first Latvian Nazi-era war crimes suspect to be brought to trial since the country regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
    An amendment to Australian laws last year means foreign governments requesting extradition of war crimes suspects no longer need to establish a clear case of guilt to support their case, just produce sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
    Australian officials have also said that although the extradition treaty needed ratifying, a separate measure taken several months ago meant Latvia could apply for extradition without the final stamps of approval on the treaty.
    Kalejs can appeal against extradition.
    During the World War Two occupation, 95 percent of Latvia's 70,000-strong Jewish population died.
    Kalejs has admitted that he was a member of the Nazi-backed Arajs hit squad which was responsible for 30,000 murders in the Baltic country but denied all war crimes, saying he was at university when the killings took place in 1941.
    Kalej's appearance in a British old people's home late last year led to a media uproar and charges Latvia was soft on old Nazis, although it has pursued suspects of Communist-era crimes.
    Nazi hunters applauded Latvian prosecutors on Monday for pursuing Kalejs's arrest but said time was of the essence due to his advanced age.
    "If Latvia doesn't proceed quickly, then all the work that was done until now might simply be for naught, which would obviously be terrible," Efraim Zuroff, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Jerusalem office, told Reuters by telephone.

Copyright 2000 Reuters Ltd.
By Peter Mladineo

    VILNIUS, Oct 24 (Reuters) — Swedish bank SEB said on Tuesday it would increase its buyout offers for outstanding shares in Latvian Unibanka (UNIB.RI) and Lithuanian Vilniaus Bankas (VB50.VL) after the apparent rejection of its first bids.
    "We had a public objection. We found that it would be difficult to be a minority owner," said Gunilla Akerblom, head of communications for SEB Baltic Holding.
    "For us it's very important to integrate the banks and become full owners of Vilniaus Bank and Unibanka," Akerblom added.
    The bank said in a statement it would increase its offer for Latvian Unibanka to 2.05 lats per share from 1.90 lats ($3.04), while upping its offer for Vilniaus to 50 litas per share from 40 litas.
    The statement said the new prices applied to all shares purchased in the buyout, including ones already offered to SEB at previously agreed prices.
    The offer for the Latvian bank would be extended by one business day to November 13. The Lithuanian offer would maintain the same end date of November 17.
    SEB, which is seeking to increase its presence around the Baltic Sea rim, made its initial offer in late August to buy all three Baltic banks in which it had interests — Unibanka, Vilniaus and Estonian Uhispank (EYAP.TL).
    However, the bank apparently had difficulties in securing comfortable voting majorities in Latvia and Lithuania.
    "I guess it's clear that the strategy is to get 100 percent of the shares. I don't think there's been any commitment (to sell so far) but there was still a long time until the deadline," said one Latvian broker.
    In Latvia, the bank faced a counter-offer from a minority holder of Unianka, High Bridge Services, which had formally applied to the Latvian securities commission, although it did not make public its buyout offer.
    High Bridge had earlier offered to pay at least two lats per Unibanka share on the open market before submitting its formal counter offer.
    An official with High Bridge said the company was considering SEB's new offer and would make a statement Thursday or Friday.
    "I am glad that SEB understood that the value of Unibanka shares is higher than two lats —how much higher is a question for discussion. But at least SEB overcame the two lat barrier," Gregory Krasovsky, chief representative for HBS in the Baltics, told Reuters.
    He said SEB had not contacted High Bridge before making the decision on the new offer but they had been in touch with the Swedish bank ahead of registering their counter offer.
    Earlier on Tuesday, SEB said it had secured 95.1 percent of Uhispank through its buyout, while it owned only 52.6 percent of Vilniaus Bank. SEB had 51.4 percent of Unibanka before launching the buyout offer.
    ($-4ltl, 0.625lvl)

(C) 2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

    OCT 25, 2000, M2 Communications — The Latvian finance minister has installed a webcam in his office.
    The camera broadcasts regularly-updated pictures from the office to allow the public to see the minister in meetings — and even having lunch.
    The People's Party says the project aims to increase the awareness and use of information technology in Latvia, and also to boost public confidence in the integrity of the government, according to the BBC.
    Located at http://www.tautaspartija.lv/ministry, the webcam is expected to rotate among the offices of the People's Party's five ministers.

Copyright 2000 PR Newswire

    ATLANTA, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — Delta Air Lines and CSA Czech Airlines today announced they will file an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking authorization to codeshare on flights between the U.S. and the Czech Republic March 25, 2001. The two carriers have signed a commercial agreement that mainly includes codesharing on routes to Central and Eastern European destinations.
    Delta said it plans to begin codeshare flights next summer between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Prague and between Newark and Prague on CSA's Airbus 310 aircraft. Delta said it also would codeshare on CSA flights between Prague and Paris, Amsterdam, Manchester, Brussels, Frankfurt, Dublin and Lyon.
    In addition, Delta plans to codeshare on CSA flights via Prague to Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; Warsaw, Poland; Zagreb, Croatia; Larnaca, Cyprus; Brno and Ostrava, Czech Republic; Riga, Latvia; Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
    CSA said it plans to begin codeshare flights next summer from New York to nine U.S. destinations, including Washington (Reagan National), Denver, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Seattle and Dallas.
    Earlier this month the SkyTeam alliance of Aeromexico, Air France, Delta and Korean Air announced that CSA Czech Airlines would join the SkyTeam alliance in 2001.
    SkyTeam member Air France presently has an agreement with CSA Czech Airlines to codeshare on flights between Prague and Paris' Charles de Gaulle International Airport, the only sizeable European hub airport that can expand meaningfully in the coming years.
    Members of Delta's SkyMiles program will earn mileage credit when traveling on Delta's codeshare flights with CSA/Czech Airlines. Members of CSA Czech Airlines' OK Plus frequent flyer program will earn mileage credit when traveling on CSA/Czech Airlines' codeshare flight operated by Delta. CSA Czech Airlines is expected to be a SkyMiles partner later this year and to join the SkyTeam alliance by April 2001.

    CSA Czech Airlines, founded in 1923, is the largest scheduled airline in the Czech Republic. The carrier has a modern fleet of 28 aircraft with an average aircraft age of five years and provides service to 62 destinations in Europe, North Africa, North America and the Middle East.
    Air France, operating a network of 198 destinations in 83 countries (excluding codeshare flights), is well established in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia as well as in the Americas. Air France offers more flights than any other carrier in the French market.
    Delta is the world's largest airline with 5,244 flights each day to 339 cities in 48 countries. For more information, visit Delta at www.delta.com.
 

This week's picture is of an apple tree in Alsviki, near Aluksne. It's next to the house of Peter's mom's cousin Arturs. Those tart apples are calling to us! Of course, now is the time of year to go apple picking!