Saturday, 14 August 1999
August 14, 1999 |
Latvian chat Sunday 8/15 Date: 8/14/99 3:51:50 PM Eastern Daylight
Time
From: Sturgalve
File: MELGAL~1.JPG (98164 bytes)
DL
Time (32000 bps): < 1 minute
Hopefully everyone is keeping cool as most of us are suffering through an incredibly hot summer. Certainly even the evenings are too hot to be outside, so instead, join us on Latvian chat starting at approximately 9pm EST until the last chatter goes to bed. You can access the chat using the following link: Town Square - Latvian chat.
Those of you that download the pictures with these mailers will recall that in the last one (two weeks ago....BAD Silvija) we sent a current picture of Melngavju Nams in the process of being restored. This week's picture is of the original, taken in the late 1800's. This is another picture from the wonderful album I picked up on eBay....all of the pictures were taken in Riga over 100 years ago. Peters is taking on the task of making a "then and now" album and taking pictures of all of those sites now, so hopefully soon (soon is a relative term....between our next two visits to Latvia or sooner if we move there this year) we'll be able to send out the end product!
For those of you yearning for wonderful Latvian bread and missing it terribly between visits (and not living in a Latvian community where you can get it, like me!) there's a wonderful site that sells items from Latvia and the surrounding Baltic area. The site is www.Balticshop.com, and they offer two different types of Latvian bread from the Kupris bakery. I'm getting ready to place my third order; can't wait for them to start their bread plan! ( We are not in any way affiliated with the proprietors of this site, just want to help out a fellow Latvian and let all of you know about this awesome bread )
There are also two articles attached for your reading pleasure; the first is more Russian whining about Latvian citizenship (for your amusement), and the second is rather satisfying reading about which countries are (and are NOT) being accepted into the WTO.
Hope to see you on the chat! Ar visu labu.....
In the News |
(Itar-Tass) - Latvia systematically violates the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and obligations to the Council of Europe, Russian human rights
commissioner Oleg Mironov said.
In his statement transmitted to Itar-Tass
on Friday, Mironov's press service said there are 741.000 Russians in Latvia
today. They make up 30.4 percent of the population and only 289,000 of them
have Latvian citizenship. The rest live in uncertainty, but do not lose the
hope. However, since only slightly more than 10,000 people have acquired
citizenship in Latvia in the last five years, this process may drag on decades.
Mironov reported over 40 differences in the rights of citizens and
non-citizens in Latvia. The most outrageous of them is that non-residents are
not allowed to take part in elections. As a result, 30 percent of people who
permanently live ion the country cannot vote, which is a violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he said.
The
commissioner believes that the time given to Latvian authorities for the
introduction of the basic European norms is up.
If the country does not
give representatives of ethnic minorities the same rights as the citizens have,
the Council of Europe will have every reason to consider stripping Latvia of
its membership.
Mironov plans
to ask the Russian delegation to the Council of Europe to amend the agenda to
include the question of Latvia's violation of its obligations it assumed on
accession to this organisation.
zak/ Copyright
1999
WASHINGTON, August 12
(Itar-Tass) - The United States backs up the admission of several former Soviet
republics, except for Russia, to the World Trade Organisation, WTO, in the
short term.
The US' deputy envoy to trade talks, Susanne Esserman, said at
a Congres hearing a few days ago that Armenia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and
Estonia could join the World Trade Organisation even before the start of
another round of talks with this global organisation due in November.
Kirgistan and Latvia have become full-fledged WTO members. Esserman did not
mention Russia among the countries whose applications for the WTO are backed up
by Washington, although she called "fruitful" the recent discussion of this
issue with the Russian side.
The United States also supports a rapid
admission to the WTO of Albania, Jordan, China, Oman and Croatia.
Russia
specialists say that Washington's stance is underlied mostly by political
considerations.
American officials admit that political factors are taken
into consideration. However, they contend that the US' decision to support the
admission of some or another country to the WTO is made solely on the basis of
"merit" in the economic development. Such decision is seen as recognition by
the international community that a country applying for the WTO has a market
economy.
lyu/ Copyright 1999
This Week's Picture |
Melngalvju Nams, a photograph from the early 1900's.