Academy president says citizenship recommendation was sent in error

Latvian Academy of Sciences President Ivars Kalviņš says a misunderstanding in the electronic signature system led to a personal recommendation for Indian scientist Divya Vishwanath being sent as an official academy document, LSM reported.

In an open letter published on Friday, Kalviņš said he had intended the recommendation to reflect only his personal opinion, not the academy’s official position. He said he took responsibility for what happened and was considering resigning, but would act in accordance with a decision by the academy’s General Assembly.

Kalviņš said his support for Vishwanath’s bid for Latvian citizenship was based on information from the academy’s partner, SIA LZA Economics Institute. That information cited her contributions to research infrastructure in Latvia, promotion of international contacts, cooperation with Latvia’s scientific community and declared plans to develop work in pharmaceuticals.

He said colleagues told him on October 21 that their analysis of publications on Vishwanath’s website had raised possible questions about their content and authorship. Kalviņš added that the Saeima had already repealed the law granting her citizenship, so verifying her scientific qualifications would no longer affect that decision.

Tags: Latvia, science, citizenship