Student Anna urges next Saeima to keep Istanbul Convention

Student Anna wants Latvia’s next parliament, the Saeima, to keep the so-called Istanbul Convention in force, LSM reported.

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence is one of the changes she hopes to see after the upcoming elections to the 15th Saeima.

Anna grew up hearing her grandmother’s stories about how her father had beaten both her and her mother. She said she did not want Latvian politicians to leave vulnerable people without a sense of security.

Russian is Anna’s mother tongue. She said politicians often take a highly radical view of national minorities, but “we must remember that we are all human and that we all want a better future for Latvia.”

Anna also wants broader representation of different groups in the Saeima, saying this could help reduce the prejudices that politicians often express from the parliamentary rostrum.