EU Pledges $3.8M to Save Russia's Languages (fwd link)

Tue Jun 23 16:05:02 UTC 2009

EU Pledges $3.8M to Save Russia's Languages

By Nikolaus von Twickel / The Moscow Times
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The European Union and the Council of Europe announced Monday a $3.8 million
program to preserve minority languages in Russia and convince the government to
ratify the European Minority Language Charter.

Andreas Siegel, the Council of Europe's director for strategic planning, said
protecting minority languages was key to keeping peace and protecting human
rights.

"This is a lesson Europe has learned very well," Siegel told reporters.

He called the Minority Language Charter unique in that it was the only
international contract that committed participants to protect smaller
languages.

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http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/378976.htm