The Verkhovnaya Rada of Ukraine demonstrated a rare unanimity in the matter of discrimination against the Russian-speaking population. Yesterday’s law On Full General Secondary Education officially consolidates the separation of citizens according to the language they speak, principal of a school in Telmanovo Galina Kosse claims.
“If students are native speakers of EU languages (Hungarian, Romanian) then 80% of the classes will be conducted for them in their native language starting the fifth grade. However, the percent of subjects for Russian-speaking children will make no more than 20 in their native language.
This rule runs counter to international standards and violates human rights. Even the Venice Commission criticized this law and considers such unfair attitude towards representatives of different linguistic cultures to be unacceptable.
Despite Zelensky’s assurances that the Russian-speaking population would not fall victim to repression, the new laws consolidate extreme Russophobia and nationalism at the state level. They are forcing on society the fear of not being “Ukrainian enough”. Moreover, the adopted language regulations are aimed at ensuring that the Russian-speaking population is deliberately subjected to public reproach, or even criminal prosecution,” Galina Kosse says.