Vanaga: Conscripts Who Skip Call-Ups Face Real Accountability, Politicians Do Not
Inga Vanaga, head of the Latvian Educational and Scientific Workers' Trade Union, said on TV24 that conscripts who fail to report should answer for it. She argued that politicians who ignore laws and deadlines should face similar accountability.
Speaking on the TV24 programme "Preses klubs", Inga Vanaga, chair of the Latvian Educational and Scientific Workers' Trade Union, discussed conscripts who do not respond to a summons and thus fail to meet obligations set out in regulations. She also addressed whether politicians should be held to a comparable standard.
Response rate is fairly high
Vanaga noted that overall compliance with the law is quite high. In her view, four cases out of the total number cannot be considered a tragic figure. She added, however, that the specific reasons why these young people did not show up should be established.
Order must be maintained
The union leader stressed that the system must be clear: if the state has the right to call people up and a person fails to respond, that person has to answer for the conduct. Vanaga said that in this case accountability is real and, moreover, arrives fairly quickly.
A demand for politicians too
At the same time, Vanaga expressed the view that alongside the responsibility of residents, the responsibility of politicians should also be discussed. According to her, if a law, decisions and deadlines exist but are not observed, some level of accountability should apply to politicians as well.
She believes the pre-election atmosphere makes especially visible the difference between the accountability that follows when promises to residents go unfulfilled and how quickly accountability is applied in other areas. On this point, Vanaga indicated that in practice the mechanism for holding politicians to account is not as evident as in the case of conscripts.
