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27Feb14

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Ukraine's New Language Bill Will Be "Balanced" - Acting Leader

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Ukraine's acting president said on Thursday that a new language bill will reflect the interests of all the country's people.

Oleksandr Turchynov, who is also the current speaker of parliament, ordered the creation of a working group of linguists, philologists and experts on social issues to draft the new bill.

He said the legislation should be ready as soon as possible because of "intense speculations surrounding this issue."

"Unlike the previous law, this bill will be fully balanced," he said. The legislation would reflect the interests of "all ethnic groups and national minorities."

Ukraine is split between the largely Ukrainian-speaking West and mostly Russian-speaking East, although many speak both or a mixture of the two known as "surzhyk."

The parliament in Kiev voted Sunday to repeal a 2012 law that allowed regions to adopt more than one language for official if they were spoken at least 10 percent of the local population. For the Russian language, just under half of Ukrainian regions meet this standard.

Ukrainian media also reported Sunday that a draft law enshrining Ukrainian as the only official state language was being considered by parliament.

The decisions came days after the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych, who came to power in 2010 promising to give Russian official status as a state language.

Russian diplomats, the European Parliament and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski condemned the decision to repeal the law, saying that it would violate the rights of ethnic minorities and contradict the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

The OSCE's High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors said Monday that the new legislative proposal could lead to increased tensions in Ukraine.

[Source: Ria Novosti, Kiev, 27Feb14]

Ukraine Unrest

This document has been published on 28Feb14 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.