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World Jewish News
Leader of Latvian Jews Fights for Millions of Dollars for Israelis
30.05.2009
Latvian Jews should receive a fair compensation from the state for their lost property. The chief Jew of Latvia, both banker and philanthropist, is demanding of the official Riga to adopt a law on restitution. A significant proportion is planned to be transferred to the Israelis who had originally come from this country.
Arkady Sukharenko, the chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia, reported in an exclusive interview with the IzRus portal on the problems which his initiative of restitution comes across - the return or
compensation of Jewish property in Latvia. Just three years ago, a draft law on restitution had been developed with his participation. Moreover, the project was approved of by the Government and sent to the Parliament for adopting as a government initiative.
Sukharenko noted that he prefers to go along the road of "peaceful dialogue" with the authorities, not exacerbating the situation. The inventory of facilities, subject to compensation, will contain the buildings and land plots,
taken away or destroyed during the period of Hitler and Soviet regimes. The Jewish community has come to a consensus with the official Riga on the main principle: the sum of compensation would be calculated as 10 per cent of the cadastral value of the lost property. This is the minimum assessment, and some even speak of a serious concession, but even according to such an estimate, the
Jews and the government agreed on a figure of 32 million lats - more than 60 million USD.
Sukharenko told the IzRus portal, that he had been almost sure the bill would be approved of by the Parliament. But the unexpected happened: the majority of MPs did not vote against it, but refrained. As a result, the project never became a law and was sent to "revision". At this stage it has already been for three years. "I very much hope that the bill will soon be reconsidered by the Parliament. Latvian authorities must understand that no integration with Europe is possible without the adoption of European principles of fair compensation for the lost property," said Sukharenko.
In his opinion, a significant part of funds from the Government will need to to be transferred to the people living in Israel, Latvian expatriates. The most appropriate way to make payments to Israeli citizens - descendants of Jews in Latvia, according to Sukharenko, is to transfer these funds to the account of the Association of people from that country in Israel. It is chaired by Elie Val. In Latvia itself, Sukharenko does not intend to spend the entire amount received, but put it in the bank, so that the Jewish community could carry out its projects at the interest on the principal amount.
The leader of the Jewish community of Latvia intends to intensify his efforts in this direction, engaging the international organizations into the process.
According to some estimates, Latvia is now at the brink of financial default.
The authorities carry out painful budget reductions, the country is in dire need of foreign loans and foreign currency tranches from international financial organizations.
Shimon Briman
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