Member of the “Servant of the People” faction Maxim Buzhansky introduced amendments to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine aimed at terminating the law on the state language (“On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language”). The deputy announced this on his Facebook page.
“We all perfectly understand that the current law has nothing to do with the protection and development of the Ukrainian language. That this law is aimed at discrimination of speakers of other languages, primarily the Russian language, ”wrote Buzhansky.
According to him, the state language law is detrimental to Ukraine, "pushing our citizens out of our information field into someone else's." Buzhansky also noted that the document "kills and humiliates our Ukrainian-language literature, putting it in a non-competitive position and preventing it from growing."
The deputy expressed confidence that the repeal of the language law in the current edition “will open up the possibility for writing a really worthwhile document.” The deputy hopes to develop a new project in the course of a broad discussion "between residents of the East and West of Ukraine, nationalists, rationalists, cultural figures, and representatives of the media."
The Ukrainian language ombudsman Tatyana Monakhova has already opposed the Buzhansky initiative. According to her, the state language law needs to be implemented, not revised.
In a conversation with RT, the director of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Policy Management, Ruslan Bortnik, emphasized that the initiative of Maxim Buzhansky does not at all reflect the position of the Servant of the People party. Nevertheless, according to the expert, in this political force there is still "fermentation" on the issue of language.
“Buzhansky claims to be the leader of the left wing of the Servant of the People, which declares support for the Russian-speaking people. Most likely, his initiative was caused by selfish political considerations. However, we can say that it exposes to some extent the disagreements that exist in the presidential party regarding the law on language, ”Bortnik explained.
“Unanswered Questions”
Buzhansky explained his bill “by the newly discovered circumstances in view of the decision of the Venice Commission”. In December, this institute, a member of the Council of Europe, called on Kiev “to immediately prepare a law on national minorities and to postpone until this time the implementation of the articles of the law on language that has already been adopted.” Otherwise, as experts of the Commission reported, the language issue could become a “source of interethnic tension”.
“The authorities are invited to revise the law on the state language and prepare a law on minorities in consultation with all interested parties, especially representatives of national minorities and indigenous peoples,” the Venice Commission communiqué says.
- Action in support of the Russian language
- © Sergey Averin / RIA News
In a RT commentary, Director of the Institute for Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov emphasized that European experts were critical of the situation with the Russian language and in an "unprecedentedly harsh form" demanded that Kiev stop total Ukrainization.
Recall that the law on state language was signed by Petro Poroshenko on May 15, shortly before he left the presidency. On July 16, an initiative that actually involves the total Ukrainization of all spheres of public life entered into force.
In addition, the law requires teaching exclusively in Ukrainian. This norm will begin to operate on September 1, 2020. “Deferral” is provided only for schools in which classes are held in the languages of the European Union (Hungarian, Polish, Romanian).
The team of Vladimir Zelensky refrained from specific assessments of the document signed by Poroshenko. Only after the election did the press service of the future president disseminate a message stating that the law on the language would be “carefully analyzed” to ensure that “the constitutional rights and interests of all citizens of Ukraine” were respected.
Zelensky himself wrote on Facebook the following: “My fundamental position is that the state should promote the development of the Ukrainian language by creating incentives and positive examples, not prohibitions and punishments, complicating bureaucratic procedures, and increasing the number of officials instead of reducing them.”
However, six months later, the president’s office did not take any countermeasures in the language sphere. In particular, today there is no information on the results of a “thorough analysis”, which was announced back in April by Zelensky’s press service.
Moreover, at a press conference following the results of the Normandy format summit, the President of Ukraine stated that “it is not forbidden for us to speak Russian”. The speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Dmitry Razumkov does not see problems using the Russian language. He said this in a recent interview with journalist Dmitry Gordon.
Meanwhile, Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the "Norman Four" drew attention to the fact that 38% of citizens consider themselves Russian-speaking in Ukraine. At the same time, he recalled that, according to the current legislation, from 2020, Russian will cease to be the language of education in Ukraine.
“And from next year, as you know, all the so-called Russian schools are being translated into Ukrainian. By the way, representatives of other schools, as far as I know, - Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, - only since 2023. As if there are more Hungarians in Ukraine than Russian speakers. Agree that this raises questions for us, to which we have no answers, ”Putin emphasized.
In October, the Department of Information and Press of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Kiev "continues the course taken by the previous government towards the total and violent Ukrainization of the country."
“Moreover, the Russian language is still subject to double discrimination, since for schools with instruction in the languages of national minorities that belong to the languages of the European Union, the transition to the Ukrainian language is delayed until 2023,” the diplomatic comment says.
“There is no unity”
It is worth noting that Ukraine has already made attempts to counter the law on state language. In early September, a group of non-factional members of the Verkhovna Rada drafted a bill mitigating restrictions on the use of the Russian language. For example, a document proclaims the right of journalists to freely choose their language. However, at the moment this document has not been considered by parliament.
“The law on state language and the law on education, which was also adopted during the presidency of Poroshenko, grossly violate international acts, including the European Charter for Regional Languages. But today I do not see the prerequisites for any changes. Kiev ignores any reproaches not only from Moscow and Europe, but also the demands of the majority of Russian-speaking citizens, ”said Denis Denisov.
At the same time, a RT source in the party “Servant of the People” claims that Zelensky opposes forced Ukrainization and shares the discontent of residents of the eastern regions, however, in his opinion, updating the legislation in the field of language policy is hardly possible, because the faction does not have unity on such an important issue.
“There is no single solution in the“ Servant of the people ”yet: there are those who support and those who are categorically against“ Ukrainization of the population ”. So far, the president has not taken any steps in this direction, as this could provoke unrest within the faction, in parliament, as well as street protests, ”the source said.
- Vladimir Zelensky surrounded by journalists at the summit in Paris
- © president.gov.ua
The source of RT in the Fatherland party also speaks of Zelensky’s indecision. According to him, the head of state is postponing the “language issue for later” because of concerns related to the “protest potential” of nationalists and opposition parties.
“Radicals and representatives of opposition parties have only“ left the office ”of the president, but will be happy to return there. On the part of Zelensky, it would be more reasonable to postpone the entry into force of all the norms of the law for a couple of years and begin to look for another solution as the fervor of the nationalist groups cools, ”the source said.
A RT source in the Golos party stated that the language issue is “very painful for Ukraine” and is able to completely split the country.
“People want to speak and learn in the language that is convenient for them. Therefore, I see no reason not to cancel the scandalous bill. This would be a good signal for the inhabitants of the east. But there is no unity in the parliament on this issue, ”the deputy admitted.
In turn, Denis Denisov believes that Zelensky will not be able to become a “full-fledged president” without repealing discriminatory language laws and “curbing the radicals.”
“Zelensky’s indecision cannot be justified by the fact that he fears a harsh reaction from the opposition and the radicals. He has someone to rely on - this is the Russian-speaking majority who voted for him. However, he continues the policy of pacifying the nationalists. In such circumstances, it is difficult to hope even for a softening of language oppression, ”Denisov said.