[Phoenix]

"Politics is a rotten egg; if broken, it stinks."

[Zab]

Originally Posted by Seanchai

Yes, as Latvians in Latvia and as Russians in Russia. Otherwise requesting that Latvians "forget the past" while the consequences of that past, namely Russian settlers, demand special colonial/Russian rights in the former colony of Latvia reeks of self-serving hypocrisy on their part.

Seriously? I can understand people not wanting Russian as an official language but as I've said the core issue has nothing to do with that. These people should be citizens and that right is not a "special" demand.

I also think you may misunderstand the phrase "forget the past". It does not mean stop speaking Russian.

[Seanchai]

Originally Posted by Zab

Seriously? I can understand people not wanting Russian as an official language but as I've said the core issue has nothing to do with that. These people should be citizens and that right is not a "special" demand.

I also think you may misunderstand the phrase "forget the past". It does not mean stop speaking Russian.

1) Why should they be citizens?

2) What exactly do you understand by "forget the past"? Is it the old colonisers' chestnut of forgetting all the things that suit them/that cast them in a bad light, and remembering all the things that suit them/that they want to hold on to?

[spurious]

Originally Posted by Seanchai

1) Why should they be citizens?

I would imagine because to expect anyone to work for the future of a country they must have a stake in that country's future.

Originally Posted by Seanchai

2) What exactly do you understand by "forget the past"? Is it the old colonisers' chestnut of forgetting all the things that suit them/that cast them in a bad light, and remembering all the things that suit them/that they want to hold on to?

No, forget the past as in stop constantly harping on about Nazi sympathisers and imperialist Soviet expansion and День Победы and years of occupation and work together for the future of the country.

Is there anyone of any flavour in Latvia who can do that?

[Zab]

Originally Posted by Seanchai

1) Why should they be citizens?

2) What exactly do you understand by "forget the past"? Is it the old colonisers' chestnut of forgetting all the things that suit them/that cast them in a bad light, and remembering all the things that suit them/that they want to hold on to?

They should be citizens because they've been living there for at least 21 years, were possibly born there, will probably be living there for the rest of their lives and should have a right to take part in the democratic process. I can certainly understand why this happened to begin with, and how it was hoped that it would sort itself out by now (via naturalization), but the fact is that there are too many people who it's now clear will remain in in this category.

You're actually the first person to use the phrase "forget the past" in this thread, I was just quoting you. No, it doesn't mean that though.

[wendell borton]

Anywhere from 120,000 to as many as 300,000 Latvians took refuge from the Soviet army by fleeing to Germany and Sweden.[41] Most sources count 200,000 to 250,000 refugees leaving Latvia, with perhaps as many as 80,000 to 100,000 of them recaptured by the Soviets or, during few months immediately after the end of war,[42] returned by the West.[43] The Soviets reoccupied the country in 1944–1945, and further deportations followed as the country was collectivised and Sovieticised.[31]
On March 25, 1949, 43,000 rural residents ("kulaks") and Latvian patriots ("nationalists") were deported to Siberia in a sweeping Operation Priboi in all three Baltic states, which was carefully planned and approved in Moscow already on January 29, 1949.[44] Between 136,000 and 190,000 Latvians, depending on the sources, were imprisoned, repressed or deported to Soviet concentration camps (the Gulag) in the post war years, from 1945 to 1952.[45] Some managed to escape arrest and joined the partisans[citation needed].
In the post-war period, Latvia was driven to adopt Soviet farming methods. Rural areas were forced into collectivisation.[46] An extensive programme to impose bilingualism was initiated in Latvia, limiting the use of Latvian language in official uses in favor of using Russian as the main language. All of the minority schools (Jewish, Polish, Belorussian, Estonian, Lithuanian) were closed down leaving only two media of instructions in the schools: Latvian and Russian.[47] An influx of labourers, administrators, military personnel and their dependents from Russia and other Soviet republics started. By 1959 about 400,000 persons arrived from other Soviet republics and the ethnic Latvian population had fallen to 62%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia