[lg policy] Playing the card of the language issue, the government divides the country and makes it impossible for the reintegration of Donbass

[Harold Schiffman]

 Playing the card of the language issue, the government divides the country
and makes it impossible for the reintegration of Donbass, — Viktor
Medvedchuk
magictr <https://sivpost.com/author/magictr/> | October 4, 2018 | Politic
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[image: Разыгрывая карту языкового вопроса, власть раскалывает страну и
делает невозможной реинтеграцию Донбасса, — Виктор Медведчук]

The government tries to play a hallmark card language issue that splits the
country and, in fact, makes impossible the reintegration of Donbass.

Commented on the adoption in the first reading the most radical language of
the bill, the party member “For life”, leader of “the Ukrainian choice —
the Right of the people” Viktor Medvedchuk.

“VR in the first reading (though only at the ninth attempt) supported the
draft law “On ensuring the functioning of Ukrainian as the state language”.
Repeated attempts of the speaker to extend the controversial bill showed
that the much-vaunted parliamentary “European model” in Ukraine is buried.
Finally. In the fight four Patriotic projects won the most radical
(attribution brightest representatives of the “party of war”), providing
for mandatory use of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of public life —
from Parliament to transportation, from medicine to Commerce, from service
industry to sport…” — the politician wrote in his blog.

The leader of “Ukrainian choice” also noted that strict compliance with the
standards of the state language, the bill proposes to establish a National
Commission standards of the state language and the institution of the
Commissioner for the protection of the state language.

“The government is trying to drive people the idea that the Ukrainian
language needs protection (and this despite the fact that, according to a
recent survey by the Sociological group “Rating”, the theme of protection
of the Ukrainian language and culture… care as much as 4% of Ukrainians)”,
— said the leader of “Ukrainian choice”.

V. Medvedchuk believes that the sad experience of making the “language”
article law “On education” our democratic government is so learned nothing.

“Deputies neither then nor now was not embarrassed that their legislative
initiatives are openly discriminatory and violate the Constitution and laws
of Ukraine, as well as a number of international legal documents,” he said.

At the same time the free development, use and protection of Russian, other
languages of national minorities in Ukraine is guaranteed not only
Ukrainian, but also international legal instruments, said V. Medvedchuk.

Thus, article 10 of the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees “free
development, use and protection of Russian, other languages of national
minorities”, as the Decision of the constitutional court concerning the
interpretation of this article, adopted on 14.12.1999 (No. 10-RP/99).

In addition, the bill contravenes the Declaration of rights of
nationalities of Ukraine (1991); the Law of Ukraine “On ratification of the
European Charter for regional or minority languages”; the Law “On national
minorities of Ukraine”; the framework Convention for the protection of
national minorities (ratified by Ukraine in 1997); numerous recommendations
of the Council of Europe language policy (e.g., “Access of minorities to
higher education” (1998), “the Place of the mother tongue in school
education” (2006), etc.), the Hague recommendations on the rights of
national minorities on education (1996) and others.

“The government tries to play a hallmark card language issue — an issue
that splits the country and, in fact, makes impossible the reintegration of
Donbass. Our eyes to the accompaniment of pseudo-Patriotic slogans such as
“cave nationalism” is strengthened in Ukraine. Well how here not to recall
the words of the singer Oleg Skrypka about the language of the ghetto for
Russian!” — concluded the leader of “Ukrainian choice — the Right of the
people”.


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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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