MPs want to make Ukrainian language mandatory for all

The Verkhovna Rada has registered bill №5670 «On Language". Its authors, deputies from different factions, suggest making the Ukrainian language compulsory to use in all spheres of public life, reports Golos.ua

On January 20, the bill was submitted for consideration by the profile parliamentary committee. It was compiled by 33 deputies from different factions. They propose to nullify the law "On State Language Policy".

The bill proposes to make the Ukrainian language mandatory for all bodies of state power and local self-government. This applies to conducting meetings, paperwork, appeals of citizens.

According to the bill, Ukrainian should be mandatory for pre-school, school, after-school and higher education. In schools and kindergartens it is allowed to use languages of the minorities, in universities it is not provided. Education at universities should be conducted only in Ukrainian; it is also permitted to provide the instruction of one or more subjects in one of the EU official languages.

All cultural events are also to be conducted exclusively in the state language. Theatrical performances in other languages must be accompanied by subtitles in the Ukrainian language.

The language of the film production in Ukraine must be only Ukrainian. Separate remarks in other languages are possible if there are subtitle.

The Ukrainian language is proposed to make mandatory for all media. Broadcasts in other languages are dubbed in the Ukrainian language. The TV and radio company is obliged to provide simultaneous translation into the Ukrainian language, if one of the participants of the program speaks a different language.

Electronic media should be obliged to have a Ukrainian page, which should be loaded by default to the user.

The Ukrainian language is also positioned as the main language of printing and publishing. Circulations in other languages can not be more than the circulation in the Ukrainian language.

In the service sector (stores, restaurants, etc.), the Ukrainian language is suggested for mandatory use.

For violation of the law the people's deputies propose to issue fines in the amount of 200 to 400 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (UAH 3400 - 6800), in the case of the authorities and public offices, from 200 to 300 (UAH 3400-5100) minimums in the field of education, science and culture, from 400 to 500 non-taxable minimums (UAH 6800-8500) for the media.

Those who attempt to "introduce in Ukraine official multilingualism 'could face criminal liability because it is equivalent to attempting to overthrow the political system (art. 109 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Public disrespect for the Ukrainian language is equated with the abuse of the state symbols of Ukraine (Art. 338 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It is supposed that special language inspectors will enforce the law if adopted.