Appeal: Latvian National Tolerance Programme

Latvian government hesitates to include LGBT people into National Tolerance Programme after loud protests by radicals and Christian fundamentalists

Latvian Alliance of LGBT People and Their Friends “Mozaika” is seriously concerned with latest anti-gay hysteria and call on your support in a form of writing letters to the Latvian Prime Ministers and the Secretariat of the Minister for Special Assignments on Social Integration.

Background information

The National Programme for Promotion of Tolerance was adopted by the Latvian government in 2004. Initial draft of the National Programme contained sexual minorities as one of the Programme’s target groups alongside the national, ethnic and religious minorities. Including sexual minorities into the National Programme was motivated by the research data and public opinion surveys confirming that sexual minorities is one of the social groups facing one of the highest levels of intolerance and discrimination. Nevertheless the Latvian government when approving the National Programme excluded sexual minorities from the list of target groups.

Following the event around LGBT Friendship Days/Riga Pride 2006 when the homophobia became synonym to Latvia in the eye of the international community, Aigars Kalvitis, the Prime Minister of Latvia, who maintained his position as a Prime Minister after the parliamentary election last October, instructed the Secretariat of the Minister for Special Assignments on Social Integration (the Secretariat) to come out with a proposal to tackle homophobia by the way of explicit inclusion of sexual minorities into the National Programme for Promotion of Tolerance.

Following the instruction by the Prime Minister, the Secretariat has proposed amendments to the National Programme and explicitly included sexual minorities as one of the target groups for the National Programme on Promotion of Tolerance and sent the amendments to the government for final approval.

Once the information about the amendments to the National programme became public, NoPride campaign and Janis Pujats, Cardinal of the Latvian Roman Catholics, who is notoriously known for his aggressive homophobic statements and views, sent protest letters to the Latvian Prime Minister demanding not to adopt the amendments to the National Programme.

The issue of the amendments to the National Programme were postponed by the government by two weeks.

The protests were joined by the First Party of Latvia, one of the biggest opponents of equality for LGBT people in Latvia and one of the organisers of homophobic hysteria since 2005. Board of the First Party of Latvia came out with a statement opposing the amendments to the National Programme and calling on Oskars Kastens, their party member and the Minster for Special Assignments on Social Integration:
 to immediately call off proposed amendments to the National Programme to include sexual minorities;
 to delete all provisions of the National Programme and its Action Plan which promote and propagate homosexuality;
 ask the Prime Minister of Latvia only to include topic of amending the National Tolerance Programme into a government’s agenda after consultation with the Spiritual Council chaired by the Prime Minister and where leader of all leading Christian denominations are represented;
 call on all members of the governing coalition to run all values related documents with the Spiritual Council prior to discussion in government or parliament;
 call on Oskars Kastens, the Minster for Special Assignments on Social Integration, to ensure all documents prepared by the Secretariat correspond with the Government Declaration, Programme of the First Party and its main priority – to support and protect families and children.

Proposed actions and motivation

Alliance Mozaika is calling on your support and kindly asks you to send letters to:

Aigars Kalvitis
Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Brivibas bulvaris 36
Riga LV-1520
Latvia
E-mail: vk@mk.gov.lv

Oskars Kastens
Minster for Special Assignments on Social Integration
Elizabetes iela 20
Riga LV-1050
Latvia
E-mail: iumsils@integracija.gov.lv and oskars.kastens@integracija.gov.lv

We suggest following point for your letters:
 concerns over the current situation regarding the amendments to the National Tolerance Programme. Proposed amendments are important proposals creating a framework for tackling homophobia in Latvia and thus contributing towards strengthening and supporting human rights in the country;
 drawing attention to dangerously raising radicalism and fundamentalism in Latvia;
 stressing the Prime Minister’s last year’s commitment to tackle homophobia in Latvia and instructing the Secretariat to develop proposals to include sexual minorities; asking his motivation and justification for postponing the government decision on the amendments; stressing his and his government’s legal and moral responsibility for possible moral and/or physical attacks LGBT might experience in Latvia;
 importance of the secular nature of the Latvian state and the provision of the Latvian Constitution on separation of state and church;
 pointing the fact that sexual minorities in Latvia are subjected to discrimination, systematic and aggressive abuse and making a point that organised and aggressive opposition to any improvement of LGBT people’s rights in Latvia on itself is a clear proof that Latvian needs to address the issue of homophobia on a level of a National Programme;
 reference to the European Union law and equality principles which include ban on sexual orientation discrimination and EU commitment to tackle discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

We would appreciate if you could let us know about your action and may even send us a copy of your letter.

Thank you for your support and solidarity!

Yours,
Mozaika