[lg policy] Ukraine: Ivano-Frankivsk lawmakers demand that politicians stop politicizing language issue

[Harold Schiffman]

 Ivano-Frankivsk lawmakers demand that politicians stop politicizing
language issue
March
13


March 12, Ivano-Frankivsk city council lawmakers passed a resolution
calling on the president, premier and Rada speaker to stop political
speculations around the language issue, ZIK reported March 12.  The
lawmakers voice their concern over the language policy declared by the
Yanukovych regime. The issue continues to be a matter for political
speculations, the resolution runs. Declarations of the current regime
representatives about the alleged violations of the rights of
Russian-speaking Ukrainians and other minorities living in Ukraine
cannot but raise concern.

However, real facts testify that the Russian-speaking Ukrainians can
meet their linguistic demands in full, with about 980 Russian-language
kindergartens, 1,199 Russian magnet schools and over 30 colleges where
teaching is done in Russian, the resolution runs. 18 percent of
students and 25% of schoolchildren study in Russian, while 14
state-run theaters perform in Russian too. The share of
Russian-language books on the Ukraine market reaches 90 percent. The
majority of mass media outlets come out in Russian or Ukrainian and
Russian.  Meanwhile, we can hear numerous declarations form
politicians about the need to give Russian the status of the second
state language. Such declarations polarize the Ukrainian society and
drive a wedge between the West and East Ukrainians.

A single state language ensures political unity of Ukraine and is an
integral part of its statehood. Any politicizing on the language issue
must be stopped, the resolution says.

http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2010/03/13/220503

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