Poroshenko signs controversial language bill into law: All schools must now teach only Ukrainian - UPDATE

RFE/RL
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 17:14 UTC

© UNIAN

The wording of the Ukrainian legislation states that the language of instruction in the first four grades may be in a minority language. By grade five, however, only two or more subjects can be taught in any of the languages of the EU.

Ukraine's president has signed into law a controversial bill that makes Ukrainian the required language of study in state schools from the fifth grade on.

Petro Poroshenko signed the measure on September 25 after days of criticism, particularly from Ukraine's ethnic minorities.

The bill does not outlaw instruction in other languages; students can still learn their native languages as a separate subject.

But that hasn't assuaged the fears of groups such as Poles, Romanians, and Hungarians, all of which have sizable ethnic communities in Ukraine.

Russia has been particularly vociferous in its criticism, with the Foreign Ministry asserted this month that the law was designed to "forcefully establish a mono-ethnic language regime in a multinational state."

Poroshenko in signing the bill insisted that it "is in harmony with European standards and is an example for neighboring countries," according to a statement on the presidential website.

"The law raises the role of Ukrainian as a state language in the education process," he said. "The law ensures equal opportunities for all...It guarantees every graduate strong language skills essential for a successful career in Ukraine."

Language has become a hot-button issue across the country, particularly in eastern regions where the majority of the population speaks Russian as its first language.

The bill's language requirement overturns a 2012 law passed under Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia two years later amid mass street protests.

That legislation allowed for minorities to introduce their languages in regions where they represented more than 10 percent of the population.

Comment: Even CIA-friendly RFE/RL is reporting on the law with some degree of criticism, which is rare for them. (Russia = bad, Ukraine = good.) From another report 2 days ago:

Leshko is not a fan of the bill, which would roll back the option for lessons to be taught in other languages.

"I don't like it. Why? Because, for example, I am a Hungarian. I was studying in a Hungarian school and I want my children also to speak Hungarian," she explained. "Maybe they will move to Hungary or maybe they will go there to earn money. In that case, the Hungarian language will be more useful than Ukrainian, I think."

Leshko is not alone in her animosity toward the legislation. Officials from Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Russia -- all countries with significant ethnic communities in Ukraine -- have all heaped vitriol on it.

...Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Ukraine "stabbed Hungary in the back" with the law.

We understand that this law is primarily directed against the Russian language, because it dominates the capital, the eastern regions. But in Transcarpathia, it hits the national minorities."-- Yaroslav Halas, spokesman for Zakarpattia Oblast governor

...
There are more than 15,000 schools across Ukraine. Of these, according to data from the Ukrainian Education Ministry, Russian is used as the primary language in 581; Romanian in 75; Hungarian in 71; and Polish in five. Some 400,000 students are enrolled at these minority-language schools.

Ethnic Russians make up 17 percent of Ukraine's population of 45 million, according to the World Population Review. Other minorities, including Hungarians, Poles, and Romanians, each make up less than 1 percent of the population.
...
Hennadiy Moskal, the governor of Zakarpattia Oblast, an area in western Ukraine with a sizable Hungarian community, has been one of the more vocal critics of the legislation, claiming it contravenes the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

If private individuals in Ukraine, or [Zakarpattia] Governor [Hennadiy] Moskal, want, they can establish a private Hungarian school and fund it."-- Former Justice Minister Serhiy Holovatyy

Yaroslav Halas, a spokesman for Moskal, expressed what some critics suspect may be the target of the bill.

"We understand that this law is primarily directed against the Russian language, because it dominates the capital, the eastern regions. But in Transcarpathia, it hits the national minorities," he told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

"This law is aimed at protecting the Ukrainian language, but mostly against Russian. It is not aimed at protecting the 150,000 Hungarians or several tens of thousands of Romanians who also live in the Chernivtsi region, or the Odesa region, where Moldovans and Gagauzians live," Halas said.

Hungary's FM released a statement in response:

"Hungary will block all steps within the European Union that would represent a step forward in Ukraine's European integration process in the spirit of the Eastern Partnership program," Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement on Tuesday.
...
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin responded to Hungary's concerns by calling the whole issue a mere "misunderstanding" and offered assurances that Ukraine does care about its citizens of Hungarian origin.

"The meaningful dialog is the way to clear up misunderstandings," Klimkin tweeted, adding that "Ukraine does everything to make our citizens of Hungarian origin feel as comfortable as possible both in the EU and in Ukraine."

Good luck back-peddling on this one, Klimkin!

Update (Sept. 27): The Russian State Duma issued a statement in response:

"The Ukrainian law on education introduces a de-facto ban on getting an education in any language except Ukrainian. It is not a coincidence that the new law has no mention of Russian or other languages used by the peoples of Ukraine. Apart from the official language - Ukrainian - the law only has some regulations concerning teaching in English," according to the text of the statement published on the parliament's website.

The new law constitutes an act of forced Ukrainization that bluntly violates the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which was ratified by Ukraine, the State Duma lawmakers wrote.
...
"The so called education reform in Ukraine is targeting primarily the destruction of the remains of Russian-language education with the full assimilation of Russian speakers being the main objectives," the statement reads.

"As they maintain the previous line in the language issue, the Ukrainian authorities again provoke the same situation and recreate the same reasons that had become a starting point for the development of the conflict and the civil war in southeastern Ukraine."