New law on state language: Russian Ambassador expresses concern

Russian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Nikolai Udovichenko commented on the draft law on the state language, public hearings on which have recently ended. He expressed his opinion on the Instagram page.

According to him, there is concern that the adoption of this bill will lead to a reduction in the use of the Russian language and narrow the rights of Russian-speaking citizens.

«We are closely monitoring the situation with the new draft law on the state language of the Kyrgyz Republic, which already caused heated discussions in society. Indeed, there are fears that the adoption of the bill in its current form will lead to a reduction in the use of the Russian language, enshrined in the Constitution as the official one, and to narrowing of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens. It is worth reminding the words of the canonical writer respected in the country, Chingiz Aitmatov, about the general humanitarian mission of the Russian language in Kyrgyzstan. Is it worth it so easy to give up what has been achieved?» Nikolai Udovichenko comments.

The National Commission on the State Language of Kyrgyzstan has completed the development of the draft law on the state language. It passed public discussion and will be submitted to the Parliament for consideration. Its updated version is presented on the single portal for public discussion of draft regulatory legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic.

It is worth noting that the guarantee of the right for representatives of all ethnic groups to preserve their native language has been removed from the new variant of the law on the state language, as well as the important wording: «It is not allowed to infringe on the rights and freedoms of citizens on the basis of ignorance of the state or official language.»