Taras Kremin: Ukraine and language policy in Europe

      Taras Kremin, Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, took part online in the work of the General Assembly of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language (EFNIL) and the EFNIL International Conference "Language and Migration", held in Vilnius (Lithuania).

      "It is a great honor for us to join the 19th EFNIL General Assembly for the first time as associate members and take part in making decisions that determine the further development of the main EU language organization," Taras Kremin said in his speech at the General Assembly.

      He emphasized that it is a privilege for Ukraine to be part of such an important sociolinguistic forum and to join the processes of language policy formation on the European continent.

      "We consider Ukraine's accession to EFNIL as a sure step towards the standards of the European community, new opportunities for popularizing and learning Ukrainian as the future language of the European Union, for sharing experience and best European language practices," the Commissioner emphasized.

      He emphasized that during the past 7 months, Ukraine has been defending not only its own borders and the eastern borders of the European Union, but also the main principles of democratic societies that unite the countries of the Euro-Atlantic community: respect for civil liberties, choice and self-determination regarding the territory of the state, its culture, language.

      "Today, the front of the battle for Ukraine is also the front of the establishment of the Ukrainian language. All attempts by the occupiers to encroach on our language, culture, and identity are futile. Uniting against the enemy, liberating Ukrainian cities, towns and villages, we are getting closer to victory with the broad support of the world community. In this difficult time for humanity, when the Ukrainian language remains among the targets of russia in the war against Ukraine, and our citizens are victims of genocide, we need continuos support of reliable partners - the language institutions of Europe," -Taras Kremin said.

      He also informed European partners about massive missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and towns, which are taking the lives of Ukrainian citizens.

      "In order to protect Ukraine from the criminal aggression of russia, we need to strengthen the support of international partners in the matter of arms supplies and sanctions pressure on the terrorist country," the Commissioner emphasized.

      At the EFNIL International Conference "Language and Migration" on October 13, 2022, Taras Kremin presented a report "The Russian policy of linguicide on the occupied territories of Ukraine as a way of dismantling the constitutional system of Ukraine and an element of genocide of the Ukrainian people."

      "On February 24, 2022, when putin launched the full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine and the russian military violated the state borders of Ukraine, it was the language border that clearly pointed to the enemy and reminded that the Ukrainian language is a fundamental element of Ukrainian identity, national unity and national security," ˗ he noted.

      The Commissioner emphasized that the so-called "language factor" became the basis for Russian military aggression and mass murders of Ukrainians: "The kremlin used the artificial slogan "protection of Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine" to justify the occupation of part of the territories of Ukraine. "Taras Kremin told European partners that the russification of Ukrainians has lasted for more than a century. First, the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet government, purposefully and systematically pursued a policy of linguicide: the Ukrainian language was banned, it was pushed out of all spheres of society.

      Presenting his report, the Commissioner noted that the tactic that russia is actively using on the language front is the spread of disinformation (information terrorism). Among the most widely narrated fakes of russian propaganda, he called the "split in Ukraine on the basis of language", which led to a "civil conflict": "False reports spread by the russian mass media about the "oppression of the Russian-speaking population" or "forced Ukrainization" are aimed to justify the aggressor war against Ukraine in the eyes of its own citizens".

      Taras Kremin emphasized that with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the facts of linguicide are systematically recorded by the Commissioner's Secretariat for their further transmission to law enforcement agencies and human rights organizations. "On the occupied territories, the Ukrainian language is being displaced from all spheres of social life. We have already recorded more than 200 facts of linguicide of the Ukrainian language. Discrimination, persecution and repression against Ukrainian citizens based on language is one of the components of putin's policy of genocide of the Ukrainian people," he said.

      The Commissioner thanked his European counterparts for their stable support to Ukraine and called for further strengthening of pressure on the issue of imposing sanctions on the terrorist country.

      "We keep on fighting  and hold the language front!", Taras Kremin emphasized.

      We will remind you that on March 21, 2022, at an extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language, a decision was unanimously made to grant Ukraine the status of associate member of EFNIL.

       EFNIL unites national language institutions of the EU member states. Among the main tasks are control over the implementation of language legislation, protection of state languages, collection of materials on language policy in the EU, encouragement to study official European languages ​​for the sake of linguistic and cultural diversity in the EU. Since his appointment, Commissioner Taras Kremin has held meetings with many heads of national language institutions in Europe, participated in EFNIL plenary sessions, and contributed to the spread of positive experience regarding the implementation of European language legislation in Ukraine.

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