Citizenship row divides Latvia

BBC News ^ | 25 March, 2005 | Angus Roxburgh

[jb6]

Latvians are sending Slavs to the ovens?

I guess you missed the part about the 15th Latvian SS Legion exterminating some 40,000 Latvian Jews and another 40,000 Jews from Berlin who were shipped to Latvia for extermination, while the concentration camps were being set up. These fine chaps also took part in blowing up Warsaw, block by block, after liquidating the Ghetto.

But hay, they deserve yearly government sponsored parades. /sarcasm

[jb6]

bump, more appologists for the Latvians and their parts in the liquidations of Jews and Slavs.

[1rudeboy]

Yup, I missed the part where Germany occupied the Baltics for 40+ years, and outlawed speaking/writing/reading in the native language, practising the native religion, exercising democracy, and all that. Is that why you Rodina-types envy the Nazis so? They get all the "acclaim," yet the Soviets were so much "better" in almost every way.

[1rudeboy]

Everyone that disagrees with you is a Nazi, got it. Please enlighten us about how well the Jews fared in the glorious Motherland.

[agarrett]

When you're born in a country you're not an illegal alien, so don't try to change the subject.

  That is true in the United States, but is not true everywhere in the world. In most countries (at least, those where I know the laws) the child has the same status as the parent. So, an illegal alien parent has an illegal immigrant child, and so on.

  The specific case of Latvia is not an easy one. Sure, you can say it's racism to deny citizenship to ethnic Russians - and there may be an element of that. But it's also true that they were an occupied nation for 50 years, and Soviet Russia promoted migration to Latvia as part of a strategy to destroy Latvian nationalism. It is not really unreasonable for the now free country to take countervailing steps.

  Honestly, I thought their solution seemed fairly moderate. They don't ban Russians from being citizens - but they insist they apply, learn Latvian, and demonstrate a knowledge of Latvian history. In short, they allow them to become citizens, as long as they show they intend to be Latvian, not Russian, citizens.

  Now, you'd made reference to a different policy for Europeans. That wasn't mentioned in the article. Can you provide more details?

Drew Garrett

[anonymoussierra]

"""I was born here," said one young man. "I pay the same taxes as Latvians. Yet I'm not allowed to vote for the politicians who spend those taxes." "I'm here to protest against the government's policy of dividing society along ethnic lines," said another."

"Good friend"Tailgunner Joe"I am polish person----- many polish persons do life in Litwa Litwa do not have problem why Litwa atack this Russia persons this person is Litwa person""I was born here,"" time is time life is life my country Poland Litwa Ukraine itp....this is slowianie today is today Thank you

[lizol]

Eastern European ping list

---

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Eastern European ping list

[jb6]

4 years not 40, they lost the war. Their plan was a bit more ambitious, maybe you heard of the Thousand Year Reich?

[jb6]

Yes, every nation under Nazi germany practiced democracy. Yup. But if you're splitting hairs between Nazi Germany and present Germany why aren't you splitting hairs between Soviet Russia and modern Russia? Hmmm?

[free_european]

"giving Germans or Spaniards who reside there for 6 months the right to vote?"

This is due to EU accession

[lizol]

Well, in different countries there are differet attitudes relating to getting citizenship.

In U.S. - as far as I know - if you're born on American soil, you're also automatically a U.S. citizen, even if your parents are illegal immigrants (am I right?). It's called "law of land".

But it's not like that everywhere. Other rule is based on so called "law of blood", and relates to ethnicity. It's like in Germany or Israel. If you proof that you're an ethnic German (or Jewish) you'll get citizenship - no matter where you lived before, or where you were born.
In countries having such a system the fact, that someone was born in that country doesn't mean, that he'll get the citizenship.

Like me for example - if one day I (being a Pole) decided with my wife to move to Israel, lived there - let's say for 5 years - and our kid was born there, so the kid wouldn't be an Israeli citizen. There would be some other legal status for him, but not citizeship.

The same is in Germany and it is getting bigger and bigger problem - relating to the Turkish community. There are many, many Turks there, who were born in Germany, speak fluent German, have never been to Turkey and have no chances to get Geramn citizenship.
On the other hand - there were (and still are) quite many Poles, who were born on territories, that used to be German before WW2, and now belong to Poland. And - as far as I know - it's quite easy for them to get a German passport.
I've seen on TV a programme about Polish people, who got German citizenship, and now receive German welfare pensions as unemployed ones, living in Poland.

[free_european]

"many Poles, who were born on territories, that used to be German before WW2, and now belong to Poland. And - as far as I know - it's quite easy for them to get a German passport"

Are they ethnic Poles or are they Poles of German ethnicity? Its pretty easy if they are the later - many Volksdeutsche from all Eastern countries have and continue to migrate to Germnay; I wasnt aware of it being possible for Poles from former German lands to. Unless I guess they were Poles who were formerly German nationals in the pre-WWII days? There are quite a few of those still around I guess.

[lizol]

"I guess they were Poles who were formerly German nationals in the pre-WWII days"

Nationals or citizens, or their heirs. Volksdeutche's too, probably.

[dljordan]

"Old grugdes might die hard but this is out and out racism in a supposed republican system"

What races are involved?

[free_european]

Interesting! I hadnt really thought - ethnic Polish formerly German nationals - about that, but it makes sense.

[jb6]

This is due to EU accession

Ok, so these people born in an EU nation do not have the same rights as all others born in EU nations?

[jb6]

Baltic race and the slavic race.

[free_european]

I thought that was what this thread was about - obviously they do not as they are not Latvian citizens and thus not citizens of an EU country. T

he debate is not why Germans get to vote but whether Latvian language test requirements for Soviet-era migrants are desirable/unfair/reasonable/racist or other.

[varon]

You are racist against Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Georgians, etc. You are a malicious and notorious hatemonger and a Russian supremacist.

Bravo!

jb6 spews communist politburo propaganda at every opportunity like a true party apparatchik.

[Modernman]

Time for "Soviet migrants" to go back home to Russia.

As the article mentions, many of these people are not immigrants. They were born in Latvia and have lived their entire lives there.