Belarusian Should Be Belarus Sole Official Language
"It is necessary to restore the status of Belarusian language as the sole official language in Belarus," said Ales Marachkin, the outgoing chairman of the World Association of Belarusians BATSKAUSHCHYNA, in his speech at the Fifth Congress of Belarusians of the World, which began in Minsk on Saturday, July 18..
According to. Marachkin, the language is a cementing factor for a nation. “The collapse of the Polish-Litvanian commonwealth that existed between 1569 and 1795] gave the Russian Empire the opportunity to occupy our country and start a sweeping Russification campaign,” he said. “A deplorable role in this process was played by the Russian Orthodox Church, which continues to regard our country as its age-long canonical territory.”
"The Russification of Belarus has now reached its peak," noted Mr. Marachkin. “The Belarusian language currently exists as a souvenir,” he said. “Belarus’ governmental agencies fully ignore it. The Ministry of Culture, which has been headed by Belarusian-speaking Pavel Latushka since recently, may be the only exception.”
Marachkin quoted Alyaksandr Lukashenka saying once, “Nothing great can be expressed in the Belarusian language.” “If the president of Lithuania or Poland said something like it, it would put an end to his political career,” he noted. “I consider it necessary to state that the current government’s language policy leads to an ethnocide of our nation and loss of its sovereignty. That is why it is necessary to restore for the Belarusian language the status of the country's sole official language, as it was formerly secured by the constitution of 1994.”
According to Mr. Marachkin, "Belarusian still survives thanks to the effort of non- governmental organizations and, in the first instance, by the Francisak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society, which should be turned into a Committee for the Protection of the Native Tongue under the Aegis of the President, and not be suppressed by charging it exorbitant rent.”
Marachkin also proposed putting up in Minsk a monument to commemorate the victory in the 1410 Grunwald Battle, which would be dominated by a statue of Grand Duke Vitaut of the Grand Duchy of Litva, as well as “getting rid of Soviet-era toponyms and monuments of totalitarianism.”
“Before becoming Europeans and citizens of the world, you should become Belarusians,” said Stefan Eriksson, the Swedish ambassador to Belarus in his address at the Congress of Belarusians of the World
Ambassador Eriksson has been living in Belarus for more than three years and cannot help admiring its culture and the Belarusian language.
“Belarusians can bring their unique history, culture and language to Europe,” said the ambassador, speaking in Belarusian. “This is what attracts us and the entire world to you.”
This article appeared in
Belarusian Review, Vol. 21, No. 3
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Source: Naviny. by/Office for Democratic Belarus, July 20, 2009
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