“My job is not legacy building. I’m not burnishing anybody’s reputation.”
--Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James Glassman, responding to critics that, in his new capacity as the founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, an “action-oriented” think tank, "the Institute would turn out to be little more than a source of revisionist propaganda for the historically unpopular Bush administration" (according to the article in which he is cited)
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
After Obama's state visit: What next? - S. Haryo Suwahyo, Jakarta Post - "Despite its relatively short duration, Barack Obama’s visit to Indonesia can be said to have worked out smoothly. The question we now need to ask ourselves is what benefit we can gain from this visit. In the field of public diplomacy, a head-of-state visit is considered the premier way a country can nurture its relationship with another country. The visit underscored the two reasons why Indonesia has strategic importance to the US’ international agenda. ... This visit served both symbolic and substantive purposes. Symbolically, Obama made an excellent impression of friendship to the nation. During his address to more than 7,500 students and faculty at the University of Indonesia, Obama repeatedly spoke in the Indonesian language and told stories about how wonderful his childhood was. Wrapped in this tone of friendship, his address on democracy, development and religion was received enthusiastically by the audience.
He also took time to visit the Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the country’s largest, since the mosque is a strong indication of the spirit of pluralism and tolerance in Indonesia that the US seeks to promote. Substantively, the visit led to the launch of a comprehensive partnership between Indonesia and the US. ... However, the level of benefit we receive will depend on the level of effort we put in following up on the visit. To that end, Indonesia must be more proactive at international and bilateral talks and stake firm positions to ensure our national agenda will be secured after the visit." Image from
We Love You, Barry, But---: Understanding Indonesia-Speak - Patricia Lee Sharpe, Whirled View: "[H]aving been fluent in Indonesian and having worked for three years in Jakarta and Medan, pursuing what is now called public diplomacy, I really did have to laugh at the suggestion that Indonesians need instruction in the subtleties of diplomatic interaction."
Was the India visit a "ringing success"? - Peter Feaver, Foreign Policy: "I agree that the larger optics and public diplomacy of the trip belong on the positive side of the ledger. President Obama effectively deployed his global popularity and garnered favorable coverage from a notoriously anti-American media. I also agree that the trade deals were positive and that it was especially noteworthy that the deals included military equipment. This was a good step forward in the strategic relationship. One might even call it solid. But beyond the trade deals, the list of tangible accomplishments
on the trip ... is rather thin." See also; image from
Susan Sher to leave first lady’s office after the new year - Politerati: "Michelle Obama’s office announced Tuesday that chief of staff Susan Sher will head back to Chicago when the new year begins. ... Sher could be leaving on a high note. Michelle Obama’s deft public diplomacy and dance moves during the president’s recent Asia trip were among the greatest successes of the tour."
US troupe turns Indian buildings into aeriel dance floors - Hindustan Times: "Dancing on air, literally, a US-based troupe is set to execute gravity defying vertical dance moves atop iconic buildings in India one each in Hyderabad and in Delhi. Project Bandaloop from San Francisco creates peculiar dance routines that combine moves inspired by the sport of climbing and rappelling, is currently in India rehearsing for their performances atop the Golconda Fort
in Hyderabad and the Jeevan Bharati LIC building in Delhi's Connaught Place. 'The event is presented by the American Centre as part of a follow up event of public diplomacy after the recent visit of US President Barack Obama,' says Sanjeev Bharghava, creative director, Seher, which along with Delhi Tourism are the event's local producers." Image from
Obama’s Neglect of Central and Eastern Europe Doesn’t Impress Young Leaders - Morgan Roach, blog.heritage.org: "The United States no longer considers relations with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) a top priority. This was one of the recurring themes at the Young Leaders Dialogue with America conference last week in Prague. ... [T]he Administration’s brazen cancellation of the third site missile defense program last year, with radar stations in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland, was 'a slap in the face for those who actually believed a key agreement with Washington was worth the paper it was written on.' ... Many believe that the withdrawal of the missile defense capabilities was part of the U.S. effort to reset relations with Russia and a sign that the new Administration cares little about the sentiments of CEE allies. Unfortunately, little can be said in defense of the Administration’s actions. Not only did the missile defense debacle call into question America’s loyalty, but other policies, such as the expansion of the Visa Waiver Program, have excelled at a snail’s pace. The White House also committed a series of public diplomacy blunders when Obama failed to appropriately acknowledge several critical World War II anniversary dates as well as the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. These missteps have not passed without notice. ... Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale flatly dismissed concerns about Obama Administration’s disinterest in CEE allies, citing President Obama’s two visits to the Czech Republic. But simply paying a visit to the Czech Republic is quite different from actually caring about relations with its government and people."
Voinovich on New START: Political Expediency Should Never Be An Excuse To Rush To Judgment - "I have been an ardent champion of NATO and have worked diligently to increase membership in the alliance. I have also been active in improving our public diplomacy in Eastern Europe through expansion of the Visa Waiver Program at the request of our friends and allies in Central
and Eastern Europe. In my remaining time in the Senate, I will continue to work to strengthen the Visa Waiver Program which has improved our image in the world and strengthened our borders through shared best-practices and enhanced intelligence sharing with our partners and allies abroad. My passion for foreign relations stems in large part from my upbringing as the grandson of Southeast European immigrants. As an undergraduate at Ohio University, my first research paper examined how the United States sold out Central and Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia to the Soviets at the Yalta and Tehran conferences in 1943 and 1945. These states would become the 'Captive Nations' suffering under the specter of Soviet domination, brutality, and oppression for nearly 50 years." Image from
Opening Plenary of the U.S. Summit & Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy - Judith A. McHale Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Grand Hyatt Hotel Washington, DC November 17, 2010 - U.S. Department of State: "Given the work you will be doing at the summit, it is particularly appropriate that last night I was in New York attending a dinner honoring the New York Philharmonic, one of America’s premier cultural institutions. The Asia Society presented them with an award for their outstanding work in cultural diplomacy, from their historic concerts in Russia in the late 1950s to their groundbreaking concert in North Korea and their impending visit to Cuba next year. ... Simply put, we recognize that for us to succeed in advancing our national interests in today’s world, we must move beyond traditional government-to-government relations and find new ways to influence and inform people everywhere. We must engage with people at all levels, in all sectors of society. And, as President Obama has stated, we must engage with them on the basis of mutual respect and mutual understanding; an engagement which fosters a spirit of collective action to address our common problems. President Obama and Secretary Clinton have provided us with excellent examples of what we must do. As they have traveled around the world, they have met with people everywhere and had open and frank discussions and debates with students, civil society leaders and a broad range of nongovernmental organizations, enterprises, and individuals."
Autocrats the worst sinners against religious liberty, says State Dept. - Demdigest: "One leading analyst has called on the Obama administration to appoint an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
'capable of mainstreaming this issue into democracy promotion, counter-terrorism and public diplomacy,' following the 'excellent work' of the National Endowment for Democracy in this field." Image from
We’ve Had Enough And We’re Not Going to Take It Anymore - Alex Belida, VOA Media Watch: "[I]nstead of worrying about the 'bias bullies,' I’ll choose to ignore them. And VOA will focus on what VOA does best: serving 'as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.'”
BBG adjusts weekly USIB audience estimate from 171 to 165 million - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "A decline or increase in the audience estimate from year to year does not necessarily reflect an increase or decrease in the actual audience. As more and newer data replace older data, the change might be more of a correction to a more accurate estimate.
An expanded number of information sources, including microbloggers, will continue to exert downward pressure on the USIB audience figure." Image from
Washington Times columnist addresses the problem of VOA having an audience - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "The VOA Persian News Network audience is (ahem) conservatively estimated at nine million per week, larger than that of BBC Persian or Radio Farda, and one of the largest audiences for any U.S. international broadcasting service. ... [The] campaign against VOA Persian amounts to no more than occasional ack-ack from outside the mainstream. ... These accusations will, however, eventually find their way into a Congressional hearing. Then will begin a more substantial discussion about U.S international broadcasting, and whether it should consist of news or propaganda."
Heritage fellow reports, and laments, that VOA shortwave cuts were planned - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "For future crises, when the internet might not work very well, it would be a good idea for the United States to maintain a global shortwave transmission capacity. It would also be difficult for the BBG to justify the expense of such a 'rainy day' asset. Perhaps the global shortwave
network could be a Federal interdepartmental responsibility, available to the Defense Department, the State Department, or BBG, as and where needed." Image from
U.S. Courts Afghans Through Television: New Shows Counter Taliban Propaganda Effort, but Does 'Eagle Four' Make Police Look Too Good? - Maria Abi-Habib, Wall Street Journal: "[T]he fictional police unit of 'Eagle Four,' the first of several television shows funded by the U.S. government as part of a strategy to galvanize Afghans behind their security forces. The show's first episodes debuted in recent weeks on Tolo TV, one of Afghanistan's largest stations. Tolo
will follow up in the spring with 'Birth of an Army,' a reality show that follows recruits from their first training missions to their battles with insurgents. The U.S.-backed shows are part of a broad allied effort to counter a Taliban propaganda offensive against coalition and Afghan forces, a push that runs parallel to the surge of forces on the ground. TV is seen as an effective way for the U.S. to spread its message to Afghanistan's largely young and illiterate population. A cop show appeals to the core demographic: impressionable young men. 'In a situation where the police are not respected by a lot of Afghans, you have to start somewhere,' said a U.S. official in Kabul. The official said most, if not all, of the shows' costs are funded from the U.S. Embassy's public diplomacy budget, a pool that also pays for English-language classes and communications towers that give stations like Tolo a wider reach across Afghanistan. The overall diplomacy budget has grown in the past two years to $114.6 million from $1.2 million." Image from article: Latif Qenat, right, discusses a scene in 'Eagle Four,' a police drama on Afghanistan's Tolo TV filmed with U.S. support. Its capable cops contrast with the public image of Afghan police. ... Tolo TV is part of the Moby Group, which also operates FARSI1, a joint venture with News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal." Image from
Cartoons' PD Potential: Can Cheburashka Help? - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "Over the past year, I've had many discussions and debates over the 'function' of pop culture in public diplomacy, and whether it can provide a viable solution to overcoming the massive volume of noise in the current communication and technological environment. Various theoretical frameworks suggest that it can. Actual observations suggest it works in some cases (after all, some audiences can surely be turned off by some of the more sexually or violently explicit, or extremely Western-centric 'pop cultural' products coming from abroad)."
Farsi1 attracts audiences in Iran with "American, Colombian and South Korean soaps and comedies" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
For Public Information Professionals: U.S-Pakistan Professional Partnership Program - buzz.mbapursuit.com: "The United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) invites applications from Pakistani nationals for a new professional partnership program. Throughout 2011 and 2012, this program will provide public information professionals
is the opportunity to travel to the U.S. and take part in a three to four week internship program. This program will emphasize how government agencies communicate effectively with the public. This includes how government officials interface with the community, work with the media, use new media and information technologies, and develop public relations and public diplomacy strategies. Pakistani professionals will share their professional expertise with U.S. colleagues and will team with them to see how public information professionals will also travel to Pakistan to work with Pakistani colleagues they hosted in the United States." Image from
The American-Kurdish Information Network - Paul Rockower, Newswire – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Last semester, I had planned to do a research project on the public diplomacy of the Kurds and Palestinians. A while back, during the snowpocalypse that was blanketing the nation’s capital, I made my way back east to work on the aforementioned project. My plans got waylaid over a photography exhibit I was putting together on Public Health and Public Diplomacy. However, before the project got shelved, I conducted some fascinating interviews with various representatives of the Kurdish and Palestinian movements on how national movements conduct public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. This is the first article of a series based on my interviews, and deals with the public diplomacy of the Kurdish people as conducted by the American-Kurdish Information Network."
Radio Taiwan International: The Voice Of Taiwan - zahoor, dxingworld.info: "In the realm of international broadcasting, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) serves as the 'voice of Taiwan.' The station is an amalgamation of the 'Voice of Free China' service that served as the Republic of China on Taiwan’s international broadcasting arm plus the Central Broadcasting System, which for years broadcast to mainland China. ... In 1998, the stations were combined and reorganized with a new mission to project from a public diplomacy perspective. Today, the station broadcasts under the call sign 'Radio Taiwan International.' RTI
promotes and disseminates news and information about Taiwan and its cultural and political life in 13 languages, broadcast through short and medium wave radio signals and streamed online. ... RTI’s Jonathan Seidman, who hosts the public diplomacy-focused program Soft Power on the RTI+ online program ... stated, 'I think RTI’s function is very unique in that we are promoting information about all aspects of Taiwan to just about everywhere in the world. ... To expand its outreach, RTI has cooperative broadcasting agreements with over 40 broadcasting media outlets, including with the VOA, Deutsche Welle and Radio France Internationale.'" Image from
The Influence of the Al Jazeera brand - IC All Around: "Joseph Nye defines soft power as the ability to obtain outcomes through attraction instead of coercion, shaping others’ preferences through influence instead of threats. Related to this, he describes the three key dimensions of public diplomacy that may be used to gain this power: daily communication with the press, strategic communications, and creating lasting relationships. This can be accomplished by listening
to your audience as well as telling them information, in order to understand your audience. Some of this soft power may also come from brands, in the US especially with global products like Google and Starbucks. But it was surprising to hear that, in 2005, the Arab news network Al Jazeera was voted the number 5 most influential brand in 2005, beating out even Nokia and Coca-Cola (Powers and Gilboa 57). ... Al Jazeera is participating in the new public diplomacy, or as Powers and Gilboa state, 'Al Jazeera places its role as a public diplomat in the international sphere at the center of its self-representation and organizational identity', and in fact even serve as a tied to a 'imagined pan-Arab community' (70). So even with all its criticisms, Al Jazeera as a non-state actor plays a major in the international sphere, and like it or not, it is a network that cannot be ignored." Image from
International broadcasting and its contribution to public diplomacy - apo.org.au: "Annmaree O’Keeffe and Alex Oliver Lowy Institute Examines the role of government-funded international broadcasters in supporting their nations’ public diplomacy efforts, and draws some conclusions for an effective international broadcasting future for Australia. The paper is the result of research commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
It is intended as a starting point to stimulate a broader debate about Australia’s international broadcasters – the Australia Network and Radio Australia – and their role in furthering Australia’s public diplomacy and supporting the nation’s foreign policy goals." Image from
Australian government nears decision on the future of Australia Network - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Remediation at a former Radio Australia shortwave site. And more RA in the news - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Speaking of "framing"... - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "Unfortunately I don't have the time to blog extensively. Again. Just wanted to highlight two news stories I came across today: both indicative of
'framing wars'; both, obvious 'counter-public diplomacy' efforts by each of the sides. Interestingly enough, both of these pieces provide context for each other... and perhaps both should be viewed with the 'Bout extradition issue' in mind. The first one is from NPR's Morning Edition, and discusses the state of 'democracy' in Ukraine: 'Ukraine's President Blamed For Derailing Democracy.' ... And ... Russia Today TV started what it called a series of reports on American policy of 'democracy promotion around the world." Image from
European music festival to take place in major cities - saigon-gpdaily.com.vn: "At a press conference in Hanoi on Nov. 17, Sean Doyle, Ambassador – Head of the European Union delegation in Vietnam, said the festival was part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of EU-Vietnam relations and an excellent example of important public diplomacy exchanges in the EU-Vietnam relationship. The event, co-organised by the EU delegation in Vietnam and five EU member embassies, including Belgium, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, will feature 22 European musicians, embracing classical music, jazz, world music and pop. Several Vietnamese artists will also perform at the festival."
Can we produce a global public sphere by the ICTs? - qiongxie, inteltakeover.wordpress.com: "In today’s [November 16] public diplomacy conference hosted by International Communication Program of American University, one of the major themes is about 'listening'.
As the moderators and speakers mentioned in the conference that public diplomacy is not delivery of message like 'Telling America’s story'. But on the contrary, public diplomacy should be bilateral information exchange. I think every nation has learned a lot of lessons by selling their own political ideologies, life style, does not mean the receiving nations will listen, let alone bridging the cultural gap to achieve the mutual understanding." Image from
Quarta-feira, 17 de Novembro de 2010 - Relações Internacionais: "A Cimeira Internacional de Jovens Atlanticistas é co-organizada pela Comissão Portuguesa do Atlântico (CPA), pelo Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS) e pela Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA). O evento é organizado sob o patrocínio do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros português e da Public Diplomacy Divison da NATO, e conta com a participação de estudantes e académicos, portugueses e estrangeiros."
6037 España, Jordi Xifra, Barcelona Meeting Com #1: International PR 2011 Conference, Competing Identities: PR in the 2010s - Octavio Islas: "Contra el silencio y el bullicio invento la Palabra, libertad que se inventa y me inventa cada día". Octavio Paz, Libertad bajo palabra" - "[T]he conference invites a wide range of contributions: ... We offer the following questions not as a definitive list, but as prompts for a spread of responses [among them]: ... What is the state of play with regard to the relevance of PR in such areas as arts promotion, cultural and public diplomacy, social marketing, sport, and tourism?"
Glover Park Hired to Fend Off Foreign Aid, Public Diplomacy Cuts - O'Dwyer's Blog: Covering PR, public affairs, marketing and the world of communications: "The U.S. Leadership Coalition has hired Glover Park Group
to stave off cuts to the U.S. international affairs budget, which includes foreign aid and public diplomacy." Image from
President Obama Announces Another Key Administration Post - The White House Office of the Press Secretary: "President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key administration post: "Ryan C. Crocker, Nominee for Member, United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy Ryan Crocker is Dean and Executive Professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy. He retired from the Foreign Service in April 2009 after a career of over 37 years."
Federal Councillor Burkhalter meets Boston’s young talents - 10yearswissnexboston.org: "Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter and his wife
tour the MIT campus on October 28. With both public diplomacy and casual conversations on his mind, Mr Burkhalter began his tours with bilateral discussions before checking out the latest inventions in the MIT labs." Image from article
Afghanistan: Has It Been Worth It? - cbc.ca: "About this Report[:]From the military mission to the reconstruction effort, our panel discusses what has and hasn't been achieved during Canada's nine-years in Afghanistan. [Panelist] Renée Filiatrault [:]
A former diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Renée recently returned from a 14-month posting in Afghanistan where she worked as Senior Public Diplomacy Officer out of Kandahar. She previously served two Ministers of National Defence, and also held positions with the British Foreign Office." Filiatrault imnage from article
The G20 Summit In Seul [sic] - IgaCe, The New Diplomacy B: A reflective group blog by some of the students on The New Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "I did not want to say that public diplomacy is worthless as it not seldom presents untrue facts shaped by governments’ PR agencies. I underlined one of its disadvantages but in general, I strongly believe that public diplomacy plays a huge role in nowadays’ world. Many authorities like Mark Leonard mentioned in the Nye’s book ‘Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics’ as well as Berridge (2010; p180) claim that public diplomacy is a kind of propaganda. Still Nye strongly disagrees (2004;p.107). I would support the Nye’s view [sic] that apart from trying to create the most positive image in media, public diplomacy ensures almost ideal conditions for maintaining healthy and continuous relationships among states. The G20 summit is a great chance for the most influencial states in the world to exchange views on the most current affairs, reach agreements and cooperate for the sake of billions of people in the world on behalf of – again- billions of people. Thus, public diplomacy is significant in terms of international partnership. Moreover it makes us –citizens- feel more or less secured [sic]. What I am trying to emphasize is that this PR work has an enormous psychological influence on us. We know that in times of crises we are not left ourselves but that there are institutions which always take care of appearing problems."
Globalization and Root Beer - Molly, Public Diplomacy and Student Exchanges: Experiences of American Students in Britain: Everyone always mentions McDonald's taking over the world, but we've got other companies here, too: Starbucks KFC Burger King Pizza Hut Domino's T.G.I. Friday's Costco Staples North Face Ralph Lauren Gap D.K.N.Y American Apparel and I'm sure many others that I haven't remembered... How do we participate in 'culture learning' when globalization has made it so easy to access a taste of home? If globalization means Americanization,
as some scholars have argued, then why do Americans still feel culture shock when they go abroad?" Image from
RELATED ITEMS
'Tea party' trouble on foreign policy: The risks are great if Republicans and the Obama administration don't put party differences aside in foreign policy issues, especially Iran - By Dana H. Allin and Steven Simon, latimes.com: That the years after World War II constituted a golden age of bipartisan foreign policy is mainly a myth. There were many bitter arguments about containment versus rollback of Soviet expansionism, and the Vietnam War was hardly an occasion for political harmony. Yet there was always a bedrock of Republican and Democratic support for combining military strength with a readiness to negotiate arms control and other agreements. From Lyndon B. Johnson to George W. Bush, moreover, every U.S. administration, whether Democratic or Republican, has combined steadfast support for Israel with unequivocal opposition to Israeli settlements in occupied territory. It is this bipartisan bedrock that is crumbling before our eyes.
Ohhh, America, you're so strong - Matt Miller, Washington Post: The conservative use of American exceptionalism as a political sword today is perversely revealing. There's something off when the first generation of Americans that is less educated than its parents feels a deep need to be told how unique it is. Or that a generation that's handing off epic debts and a chronically dysfunctional political process (among other woes) demands that its leaders keep toasting its fabulousness.
Especially when other nations now offer more upward mobility, and a better blend of growth with equity, than we do - arguably the best measures of America's once-exceptional national performance. Wouldn't it bolster Americans more to be told that we can meet the challenges of this moment? Wouldn't we be better off striving to be exceptional at solving our common problems? Image from
Like Facebook: Through the Rear View Mirror of "The Social Network"- Alex Pasternack, motherboard.tv: Wu Hao, the local official most associated with China’s Internet propaganda, said last year that “public opinion on the Internet must be solved with the means of the Internet.” This is why Beijing has built a digital army of online commentators who eagerly perform damage control in comment boxes and message boards across the Chinese Internet. The phenomenon of the 50 Centers, as they are known for the scant pay they receive for each comment, are not limited to China. As Evgeny Morozov wrote recently in the Wall Street Journal, information-anxious governments around the world are joining the Internet fray, and not because they are interested in looking at their friends’ funny photos. They like the logic of a fast and furious information medium where reality is easily manipulated. The high-speed spinning of the Internet also explains why the State Department has pursued friendships with online networks, and vice versa. In June, Twitter put out a call for a government liaison, someone to serve as “the closest point of contact with a variety of important people and organizations looking to get the most out of Twitter on both strategic and highly tactical levels.” Facebook may or may not be determining our ability to act, but it is guiding how we think. There’s no conspiracy here, no smoke and mirrors. What makes Facebook possible of course is us. Our data – our network of contacts, our photos, our comments, our favorite TV shows – are not just visible to our friends, but ripe for the picking by legions of non-friendly advertisers, some of whom have called Facebook the biggest game-changer in history.
Winning in Afghanistan is key to foiling terrorist plans - James Jay Carafano, bellinghamherald.com: The wilds of Afghanistan
and Pakistan are al-Qaeda central. To quit the area before we've rooted out the terrorists would hand al-Qaeda a propaganda victory of immeasurable value. Image from
Putin's war of words: The irony of Russia's propaganda against Latvia - Inga Freivalds, Latvians Online: Latvia’s greatest concern currently is its position and perception in the international arena. Russia, full well realizing this, has launched a malicious propaganda campaign against the current Latvian government headed by Vienotība (Unity) and Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis.
AMERICANA
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