During the meeting, people’s deputy Volodymyr Yavorivskyi talked about the bill on functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language, and on the order of using other languages in Ukraine (Reg. No. 1233). Particularly, he drew attention to the fact that “theses elaborated by the group of Leonid Kravchuk are the basis for a new law, since they are the most constructive foundation for it”.
In the words of V. Yavorivskyi, the new bill determines the status of the Ukrainian language as the only state language, and the Russian language “will receive a special support, as it is the most massive among languages of the minorities”. Moreover, according to the people’s deputy, “considerable attention will be paid to minority languages”.
V. Yavorivskyi reminded that in 2003 Ukraine ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. According to him, the essence of the Charter “is humanistic, this document is aimed at preserving lingual diversity in Europe, especially of those language that can die. There are such languages in Ukraine as well. These are, for example, Karaite, Krymchak, Gagauz, Romani, Yiddish, etc.” claimed the people’s deputy.
It was also mentioned that according to the bill, functioning of the Ukrainian language as the single state language, and state assistance provided to it as to the language of titular nation, should be connected with “attentive attitude to languages of national minorities who have been historically living within Ukrainian borders, and with ensuring protection of linguistic rights of persons belonging to such minorities”.
According to V. Yavorivskyi, the bill “is planned to be adopted after presidential elections”.
Information was prepared with the help of the Programme’s interns