Speech #1020108625

But in the end. they were victorious. The Latvian people preserved their history. their language. their sense of nationhood. and having thrown off Moscows yoke. they have rejoined the community of free nations. And now the Latvian government is faced with the great task of reestablishing its nation under the rule of law. and one of the major questions is: "Who will become a citizen of the Latvia?" On October 15. 1991 the Latvian Supreme Council adopted a resolution on the rights of citizens of Latvia and regulations for naturalization of noncitizens. According to this resolution. former citizens of independent Latvia and their descendants will be restored to citizenship by formal application before July 1. 1992. Residents wishing to become naturalized citizens must be conversant in Latvian. know the fundamental principles of the Latvian Constitution. take an oath of loyalty to the Republic of Latvia. and have resided in Latvia for 16 years. Mr. President. it seems to me that the first three requirements are eminently reasonable. and fully compatible with the naturalization laws of many advanced nations. However. I am frankly uneasy about the 16year residency requirement. which appears designed to discourage citizenship by nonLatvians. It appears. unfortunately. that supporters of this 16year provision wish to intentionally alienate nonLatvians currently residing in that country. I am aware of the "Ugly Russian" in the Baltics. the colonial mentality. the resolute refusal by many immigrants to learn the language of the indigenous population. making not the slightest effort to contribute to the society around him or her. I understand the unwillingness to share the new freedoms with such persons. But are old antagonisms worth the waste of human potential. the discord. the resentments that this provision. if enacted into law. will undoubtedly generate? Is this a reasonable way to proceed? I am also aware that certain nations. Switzerland and Iceland among them. have similar time periods for naturalization. In the United States the normal waiting period is 5 years. 3 years for the spouse of an American citizen. I am reminded. however. that a potential citizen is aware of these provisions prior to attempting to emigrate to those countries and become naturalized. unlike the nonLatvian population of Latvia. And I would admit that the record of the United States has not been exemplary in this area. Regrettably. we only extended full citizenship to our native Americans in Nevertheless.