RUSSIAN LEADER IN LATVIA DEMANDS BILINGUALISM.

The co-chairman of the Russian Party in Latvia, Mikhail Gavrilov, called yesterday for legislating "bilingualism" in Latvia. The goal: to elevate Russian to the status of official language, on equal footing with Latvian. Gavrilov led a 100-strong picket in front of the parliament building. The Russian demonstrators also expressed "indignation" over draft legislation envisioning that, beginning in the year 2005, half of the subjects taught in Russian schools would be taught in Latvian. (Russian agencies, April 2) The demand for "bilingualism" points to the ultimate stake in the current controversies over Latvian language legislation. The parliament is considering amendments to the existing language law.

Aliev Lists Policy Differences with Moscow.