TOXIC MIXTURE of Kafka and Orwell
Sir Winston Churchill, a famous British statesman, is the author of several well-known sayings on democracy. (…) According to Dr. Walter Schwimmer, a prominent Austrian lawyer and a former Secretary of the Council of Europe, the following quote is important: „Democracy means that if the doorbell rings in the early hours, it is likely to be the milkman.”
On January 31, 1995 the Parliamentary Assembly debated the accession of the Republic of Latvia to the Council of Europe, the oldest and most comprehensive organization of European unification, based on the spiritual and moral values which are the common heritage of their peoples and the true source of individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law, principles which form the basis of all genuine democracy. Latvia was to become the 34th member state of the Council two years after the two other Baltic States. I was appointed by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Assembly to present the position of the Assembly on the application for membership of the Republic of Latvia. Based on the thorough research the committee had undertaken. I recommended „that the Council of Europe admit into the family of democracies this small and brave country Latvia, which has been sorely tested in the course of history”. Together with the other members of the committee as well as of the whole Assembly I was fully convinced that the small republic at the Baltic Sea deserves our confidence and support. Four years later I was elected Secretary General of the organization which had in the meantime 40 member states with the main task to strengthen European cooperation in order to foster the organization’s core values, pluralist democracy, rule of law and above all human rights of 800 million European citizens. During my term of office as Secretary General of the Council of Europe I had excellent relations with Latvia, in particular during its chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers. I appreciated very much that part of the program of the Latvian chairmanship was „to ensure the continued effectiveness of expertise of the Council of Europe in the field of human rights.” Already 9 years later, on May 1, 2004, Latvia became part of the European Union. The most important pre-condition for EU membership is the fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria, i.e. functioning of pluralist democracy, rule of law and the observation of human rights. These are the main values of the Council of Europe, taken over by the Union (like the European Anthem and the blue flag with the 12 stars). When the Treaty for the 2004 enlargement was signed in Athens on April 16, 2003, the Latvian delegation approached me in the Stoa of Attalos, like the delegations of the 9 other new members, and thanked the Council of Europe for helping the country to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. In the first half of 2015 the Republic of Latvia will take the presidency of the European Union which will draw the attention of the European public to the country’s current situation, politically, economically and of course, legally too. The Union to be presided by the Republic of Latvia is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. Is Latvia prepared to take a leading role in a Union based on such noble and challenging priniples? Can and will the assessment be the same as at the time of joining the Council of Europe, of chairing the Committee of Ministers and of the admission to the European Union? Or would there be some serious concerns about deterioration in specific fields? Yes, Latvia still has functioning democratic institutions based on free and fair elections. Latvia has a judicial system with constitutionally guaranteed independence. Latvia has signed and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as well as the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman Treatment when entering the Council of Europe. Latvian citizens have access to the European Court of Human Rights. But? Can there be hidden troubles and serious problems behind this façade? The famous British statesman Sir Winston Churchill made several wellknown statements about democracy. No one is based on formalities or a formal façade. The best one in my view is the following quote: „Democracy means that if the doorbell rings in the early hours, it is likely to be the milkman.” Will the Republic which’ people lived 50 years under communist dictatorship pass the „milkman test”? Not only I but many other people were shocked when we learnt about a special case putting a Latvian family into a nightmare. The family’s case is just one out of many in Latvia. Looking closer onto such cases, a dark side of the political and legal system in Latvia can clearly be observed. It shows a system where certain groups within state authorities have gotten out of control and act on behalf of their own – often shady – interests. When I first heard about the Vilkaste– Vashkevich case I did not believe that such things are possible in Europe in the 3rd millennium. It clearly reminded me to the famous novel of my fellow-countryman Franz Kafka „The Trial”. In the meantime I know that this is a kind of understatement. What happened to the family is more, it is a poisonous melange of Kafka’s trial and George Orwell’s „1984”. Endless persecutions with no visible sense, abuse of power, criminal activities, are the ingredients of this melange. One day a successful businesswoman found herself in the middle of a criminal plot: Extortion, arson, a disappeared lawyer and shady investigations became the unintended daily business of Inara Vilkaste. She got involved in several dozens of „legal” proceedings. There has been no evidence against her, but the threats never stopped. At nearly the same time, the father of her daughters from whom she was divorced, a skilled and successful senior official in the financial administration, Vladimir Vashkevich who worked on the restructuring of the tax administration and on combating contraband and moneylaundering, found evidence for illegal activities, corruption, smuggling and tax fraud. In the centre of these activities were employees of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau of the Republic of Latvia, KNAB… but also agents of the Latvian Intelligence Service, employees of the Ministry of Finance, criminals, but also politicians who protected the main actors. Mr. Vashkevich informed his superior Minister of Finance as well as the Prime Minister, but due to the results of an election the government changed and for Mr. Vashkevich another nightmare started. First they tried to eliminate him physically, by an arson on his car and then with a bomb under his car through which he was seriously wounded (and is still suffering from the consequences). As he survived, his opponents fabricated legal accusations, he was suspended without salary and social insurance from his position and even arrested. Based on the „statements” submitted by an extortionist (who was convicted for the deed) the same KNAB started „independently” proceedings against Mrs. Vilkaste For years Mrs. Vilkaste had to appear nearly every second day at the court, and other law enforcement agencies, in the vast majority just as „witness” and therefore without any right to view the files or to defend her against the actions which look like harassment by “legal” tools. A complaint against these actions, violating the right to private and family life, and to some extent also the right to protection of property, is pending at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Latvian court who sentenced her in a criminal case which can be considered as a fabricated episode of alleged bribery in second instance, based its decision again on the „evidence” by the previously convicted extortionist! The verdict was lifted in the meantime by the Senate of the Supreme Court but new proceedings did not start since one year. According to the former governmental agent of Latvia at the European Court of Human Rights, Ms. Inga Reine the main cases against Latvia at the ECHR are unreasonable duration of criminal proceedings, inequality of parties in adjudication of cases, negligent verification of evidence and ignorance of the assumption of innocence! But not enough, KNAB intimidated the defence lawyers of the family and to search illegally the property and the documents of Mrs. Vilkaste. Based on a fabricated allegation against Mr. Vashkevich KNAB started a search in the house of Mrs. Vilkaste. Before the commencement of the house search, the attorneys of Mrs. Vilkaste and Mr. Vaskevics were served subpoenas as „witnesses” in the new proceedings. At the home search the defence lawyers, turned by KNAB into „witnesses” were not allowed to be present. Although the home search was declared as part of an investigation in a case related to Mr. Vaskevics, a KNAB investigator, orally instructed the searchers that they „shall take everything – also everything referring to Inara”! Also documentation concerning third parties was confiscated during the search. Turning the defence lawyers into „witnesses” is also an obvious attempt to get the permission to wiretap the telephone conversation of lawyers with their clients (if this did not happen already), and to deny the opportunity for legal defence for Mrs Vilkaste and her family. The home search was later on declared illegal by the Riga City Central District Court as from the very beginning unfounded; but until today not all items confiscated in the illegal home search were returned so far. Nobody who has studied the Vilkaste in detail believes in coincidences when KNAB is not only the force behind all allegations against Ms Vilkaste (as well as against her husband), but one can find relations or connections to KNAB or related special services in practically every criminal action carried out against the family, e.g. car bombs, attempt of kidnapping, arson, disappearance without trace of the family’s lawyer etc. I still believe in Latvian democracy and the commitment of this country to rule of law and human rights as I did as rapporteur for the admission of Latvia to the Council of Europe and as Secretary General of this European family of democracies. But nobody can stay above the law in a democracy and therefore without effective democratic control. There is time to refrain from any illegal action and to stop the harassment of Ms Vilkaste and her family! When Latvia will take over the presidency of the European Union, this unique project of peace and citizens’ rights, on January 1st, 2015, there should be no shadow on the human rights record of the small and brave country, I quote again my words from January 31, 1995 „which has been sorely tested in the course of history”. Under these conditions January 1st, 2015, shall be another historic date in Latvia’s history, as it was November 18th, 1918, when Latvia’s independence was declared, February 10th, 1995, the day of admission to the Council of Europe, and May 1st, 2004 when Latvia became a member of the European Union.
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