“I’d rather be a hammer than a nail.”

A.Pabriks

 Eiropas Parlamenta vēlēšanas tuvojas – tā var skaidrot biogrāfiska raksta “Tolerant fighter”  parādīšanos portālā EuropeanVoice.com. Raksta autors AP reportieris Rīgā Garijs Pičs (Gary Peach) iedziļinājās aizsardzības ministra A.Pabrika biogrāfijā un, kā nu pratis, izgaismojis, viņaprāt, zīmīgākās ministra karjeras epizodes. Interesentiem ieteicams lasīt visu rakstu (sk. zemāk), es, peimēram, nezināju, ka nacionālisti šāva uz A.Pabrika māju atriebjoties par Ābreni… 

Zemāk spožākās raksta naglas:

• par homofobu protestiem 2006.gadā :

“…He slammed Latvia and confessed to being ashamed of what was taking place in the country. The Baltic state had disgraced itself in the eyes of the EU community and embarked on the slippery slope of obscurantism, he said. “What’s next?” Pabriks asked indignantly, “book-burning?”

• – par premjera Kalvīša nepieņemto ārlietu ministra Pabrika demisiju 2007.gadā:

“…Aigars Kalvitis, wanted him to vote for the sacking of Latvia’s top anti-corruption investigator, which Pabriks reluctantly did out of loyalty. Adding insult to injury, Kalvitis asked him a few days later to defend the sacking – extremely unpopular among Latvians – on national television. “I myself was against [the sacking], since it was difficult for me to defend a decision which was against my personal conviction. But I still agreed to go [on air], and that TV show turned out to be a disaster,” recalls Pabriks.”

• – par grūto izvēli starp pasniedzēja un politiķa karjeru:

“…But Pabriks, who consistently receives one of the highest personal votes during elections, opted to stay in the political arena. “It’s like that old song by Simon and Garfunkel,” he says with a grin during an interview lunch. “I’d rather be a hammer than a nail.” This Latvian hammer was forged in the revolutionary milieu of the late 1980s, when the dream of independence suffused the Baltic air.”

• par sākumā gauso, bet tad pēkšņi straujo politiskās karjeras startu:

“…In 1998, he helped establish the People’s Party, and, while for the first six years he was merely a rank-and-file member, in 2004 his political career took off. In January of that year, Pabriks was asked to fill an empty parliamentary seat, immediately becoming head of the foreign affairs committee. He made such an impression that in August his party called on him to take over another empty chair – that of the foreign minister.”

• par iekļūšanu “nacionālistu” melnajā sarakstā, izdzīvošanu apšaudē, nepaklāušanos spiedienam un robežlīguma parakstīšanu:

“…NATO and EU membership, a border agreement with Russia. The latter landed Pabriks on nationalists’ blacklist, since he failed to insist that Moscow return the Abrene district…”

“…Radical thugs fired shots at Pabriks’ seaside home in the village of Lapmežciems, approximately a one-hour drive west of Riga, but it was not enough to keep the foreign minister’s signature off the agreement.”

•  par turkofīliju:

“When possible Turkish membership of the EU was raised at a recent conference in Riga, Pabriks, who speaks fluent Latvian, Russian, and English, as well as some German and Danish, was concise: “The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Europe.”

•  par sapņu darbu ārlietu jomā un zaudēto  cīņu par aizsardzības budžetu:

“…Pabriks had hoped to return to foreign affairs, the centrist coalition entrusted him with the defence ministry, an unexpected development he now enthusiastically endorses, since the job still allows him to be active abroad, albeit from the standpoint of security. The minister’s core battle is to procure defence funds, which fell 50% during the crisis and currently comprise 1% of gross domestic product, only half of what is needed for NATO membership.”

•  par sparringošanu ar raksta autoru :

“…He is a third-degree black belt in “ti”, an ancient fighting form that is the precursor of modern karate and taught by only a handful of Okinawan masters. He runs a class in Riga, which this writer has attended for the past four years.”

• pār nākotnes plāniem:

“…here are only three directions left for him: a position in the EU, a higher position in Latvia, or bowing out from politics for good. “At this moment, the third is not yet an option,” says Pabriks. Words of a fighter, for sure.”

Tātad, ja vēlētāji 2014.gadā nenodrošinās A.Pabrikam nokļūšanu “higher position” (Valsts prezidenta amats?), tad neskādēs kāds turkofīls amatiņš ES institūcijās, jo pasniedzēja karjeras turpināšana vēl nav kļuvusi par opciju. Pēc manām domām,  jo ātrāk kāds no šiem scenārijiem piepildīsies, jo labāk. Aizsardzības budžets bezcerīgi un šķībi pienaglots zemākajā līmenī kopš LV iestāšanās NATO, turpretī Rīgas pilī āmuri lieti noderēs.

…

Tolerant fighter

Latvia, like nearly all post-communist societies, has been slow to learn the wisdom of tolerance, particularly over sexual minorities. This was painfully obvious in the years after joining the European Union, and especially in 2006 when protesters hurled eggs and excrement at gay and lesbian-rights activists gathered in Riga. Through it all, politicians tended to maintain an embarrassed silence – with one exception: Artis Pabriks, Latvia’s defence minister.

During the 2006 events he was minister of foreign affairs, and he held what would be seen as a seminal press conference. He slammed Latvia and confessed to being ashamed of what was taking place in the country. The Baltic state had disgraced itself in the eyes of the EU community and embarked on the slippery slope of obscurantism, he said. “What’s next?” Pabriks asked indignantly, “book-burning?”

These were the strongest words spoken at the time, and the only condemnation from a high-ranking member of the then centre-right government. Over a year later, Pabriks again found himself at loggerheads with cabinet colleagues. The then prime minister, Aigars Kalvitis, wanted him to vote for the sacking of Latvia’s top anti-corruption investigator, which Pabriks reluctantly did out of loyalty. Adding insult to injury, Kalvitis asked him a few days later to defend the sacking – extremely unpopular among Latvians – on national television. “I myself was against [the sacking], since it was difficult for me to defend a decision which was against my personal conviction. But I still agreed to go [on air], and that TV show turned out to be a disaster,” recalls Pabriks. “The next day I called the prime minister and told him I disagreed with what had been done, and I resigned my position.” A month later, toward the end of 2007, Pabriks quit the People’s Party, a centre-right party he had helped create.

It was a career-altering gambit for the Danish-trained political science professor, and many might have assumed that Pabriks, who currently teaches graduate-level courses at Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration, would return to the classroom full-time. But Pabriks, who consistently receives one of the highest personal votes during elections, opted to stay in the political arena. “It’s like that old song by Simon and Garfunkel,” he says with a grin during an interview lunch. “I’d rather be a hammer than a nail.”

This Latvian hammer was forged in the revolutionary milieu of the late 1980s, when the dream of independence suffused the Baltic air. Pabriks, who had just completed his mandatory two-year stint in the Soviet army, joined the Popular Front independence movement while studying history at the University of Latvia. In early 1991, when the communist regime in Moscow was struggling to contain separatist revolts in Lithuania, Georgia and other republics, Pabriks won a Danish-financed grant to enrol at Aarhus University. He enjoyed the programme so much that he stayed until 1996, when he was awarded a PhD for a thesis on nationalism and ethnic policy.

Once back in Latvia, Pabriks continued to scratch the political itch while teaching political science and working as an analyst on human rights and ethnic issues. In 1998, he helped establish the People’s Party, and, while for the first six years he was merely a rank-and-file member, in 2004 his political career took off. In January of that year, Pabriks was asked to fill an empty parliamentary seat, immediately becoming head of the foreign affairs committee. He made such an impression that in August his party called on him to take over another empty chair – that of the foreign minister.

Those were heady years for Latvia’s external relations: NATO and EU membership, a border agreement with Russia. The latter landed Pabriks on nationalists’ blacklist, since he failed to insist that Moscow return the Abrene district (currently Russia’s Pytalovsky region), a rump of land that had been part of Latvia during the inter-war period, but after the Second World War was carved out and given to Russia. Radical thugs fired shots at Pabriks’ seaside home in the village of Lapmežciems, approximately a one-hour drive west of Riga, but it was not enough to keep the foreign minister’s signature off the agreement.

During those years Pabriks would also become a bona fide Turkophile. His Turkish counterpart at the time was Abdullah Gul, who left an indelible impression on the Latvian. When possible Turkish membership of the EU was raised at a recent conference in Riga, Pabriks, who speaks fluent Latvian, Russian, and English, as well as some German and Danish, was concise: “The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs Europe.”

Like all Latvians, Pabriks, who has a daughter from a previous marriage and two children from his wife Undine, an ethnic German, was profoundly affected by the country’s bankruptcy and three-year recession. He knew sweeping change in both politics and mentality was unavoidable. “It’s not just a matter of how much gross domestic product per capita you have – it’s a question of how it’s distributed. Social equality is a big problem in our country,” he says.

In 2008, together with like-minded social liberals, including the sacked anti-corruption prosecutor, he formed an upstart grouping, Society for a Different Politics, which a year later merged with two other parties, including Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ New Era. The resulting conglomerate, Unity, won nearly a third of the vote in 2010, and, although Pabriks had hoped to return to foreign affairs, the centrist coalition entrusted him with the defence ministry, an unexpected development he now enthusiastically endorses, since the job still allows him to be active abroad, albeit from the standpoint of security. The minister’s core battle is to procure defence funds, which fell 50% during the crisis and currently comprise 1% of gross domestic product, only half of what is needed for NATO membership.

To relax from professional battles, Pabriks indulges in another type of fighting: martial arts. He is a third-degree black belt in “ti”, an ancient fighting form that is the precursor of modern karate and taught by only a handful of Okinawan masters. He runs a class in Riga, which this writer has attended for the past four years. Reflecting on his future, Pabriks, who does not rule out running for a European Parliament seat next year, says there are only three directions left for him: a position in the EU, a higher position in Latvia, or bowing out from politics for good. “At this moment, the third is not yet an option,” says Pabriks. Words of a fighter, for sure.

1966: Born, Jurmala

1988-90: Researcher, Latvian Academy of Science

1992: Graduated, history faculty, University of Latvia

1996: PhD in political science, Aarhus University

1997- Lecturer, Vidzeme 2006: University

2001-03: Policy analyst, Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies

2002-: Latvian representative for Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission

2004: Member of Parliament

2004-7: Foreign minister

2007-10: Member of Parliament

2010-: Defence minister

2011-: Professor, Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration

http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/tolerant-fighter/78545.aspx