Latvians hold vote on Russian language
Source: Agencies |
February 19, 2012, Sunday
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LATVIA yesterday voted in a referendum on whether Russian should become the Baltic country's second national language, a poll that is likely to fail and widen the rift in an already divided society.
Turnout was higher than usual, with more than half of registered voters casting their ballots by 4pm, six hours before the polls were due to close.
About one-third of the Baltic country's 2.1 million people consider Russian as their mother tongue. Many of them say that according official status to the Russian language in the nation's constitution will reverse what they claim has been 20 years of discrimination.
"For me and many Russians in Latvia this is a kind of gesture to show our dissatisfaction with the political system here, with how society is divided into two classes - one half has full rights, and the other half's rights are violated," said Aleksejs Yevdokimovs, 36.
"The Latvian half always employs a presumption of guilt toward Russians, so we have to prove things that shouldn't need to be proven," he said.
For ethnic Latvians, the referendum is an attempt to encroach on Latvia's independence, which was restored two decades ago after a half-century of occupation by the Soviet Union following World War II.
Many consider Russian as the language of the former occupiers. They also harbor deep mistrust toward Russia, and worry that Moscow attempts to wield influence in Latvia through Russian speakers.
"Latvia is the only place throughout the world where Latvian is spoken, so we have to protect it," said Martins Dzerve, 37. "But Russian is everywhere."
Turnout was higher than usual, with more than half of registered voters casting their ballots by 4pm, six hours before the polls were due to close.
About one-third of the Baltic country's 2.1 million people consider Russian as their mother tongue. Many of them say that according official status to the Russian language in the nation's constitution will reverse what they claim has been 20 years of discrimination.
"For me and many Russians in Latvia this is a kind of gesture to show our dissatisfaction with the political system here, with how society is divided into two classes - one half has full rights, and the other half's rights are violated," said Aleksejs Yevdokimovs, 36.
"The Latvian half always employs a presumption of guilt toward Russians, so we have to prove things that shouldn't need to be proven," he said.
For ethnic Latvians, the referendum is an attempt to encroach on Latvia's independence, which was restored two decades ago after a half-century of occupation by the Soviet Union following World War II.
Many consider Russian as the language of the former occupiers. They also harbor deep mistrust toward Russia, and worry that Moscow attempts to wield influence in Latvia through Russian speakers.
"Latvia is the only place throughout the world where Latvian is spoken, so we have to protect it," said Martins Dzerve, 37. "But Russian is everywhere."
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