U.S. WELCOMES LATVIANS' VOTE ON CITIZENSHIP LAW
USIA
05 October 1998
TEXT: U.S. WELCOMES LATVIANS' VOTE ON CITIZENSHIP LAW
(Vote demonstrates Latvians' commitment to human rights) (350)
Washington -- State Department Deputy Spokesman James Foley said the
United States welcomed the vote in Latvia October 3 to implement
amendments to the citizenship and naturalization law.
"This decision, democratically reached through a national referendum,
indicates the Latvian people's strong commitment to the international
human rights standards Latvia accepted by joining the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)," Foley said.
"This law is an important and necessary step in Latvia's road to
integrating fully into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions."
Following is the text of the statement:
(Begin text)
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
Press Statement
Press Statement by James B. Foley, Deputy Spokesman
October 5, 1998
LATVIA REFERENDUM
The United States Government welcomes the vote of the Latvian people
October 3 to implement amendments to their citizenship and
naturalization law. This decision, democratically reached through a
national referendum, indicates the Latvian people's strong commitment
to the international human rights standards Latvia accepted by joining
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Latvia's action is fully in the spirit of our joint commitment,
outlined in the U.S.-Baltic Partnership Charter signed earlier this
year, to implement OSCE-compliant legislation protecting human rights
"fully and equitably." These new amendments fulfill all of Latvia's
international obligations in the area of citizenship and
naturalization, without any harm to the development of Latvian
language and culture. This law is an important and necessary step in
Latvia's road to integrating fully into European and Euro-Atlantic
institutions.
The United States looks forward to working with Latvia's new
government to implement expeditiously this law and facilitate
naturalization opportunities for Latvia's ethnic Russian minority. We
have already committed $500,000 to a program to make the
naturalization process more accessible and user-friendly, and we are
exploring other ways to assist as well. We also look forward to the
Latvian parliament bringing its laws into compliance with OSCE
standards in other areas as well.
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