Ukraine passes law strengthening use of Ukrainian language

The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday passed a law on strengthening the use of the Ukrainian language in official settings in the country.

The law stipulates that Ukrainian is the only official language in the country and must be used in state institutions, local governing bodies and certain areas of public life.

The aim of the law is to protect the status of the Ukrainian language, the parliament press service said.

The final text of the legislation had not been published, but local media reported that in accordance with the new law, Ukrainian would become the primary language in media, healthcare, education, sports, culture, science and other areas.

However, the legislation does not regulate private communication between people as well as the sector of religion.

The language issue has for years been a controversial issue in the country following the Ukrainian crisis. Since many people in the country speak both Ukrainian and Russian, the opponents of the law believe that the legislation violates the right of national minorities.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)