UKRAINE-LANGUAGE-LAW-OPINION

Kyiv, August 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian presidential advisor Hanna Herman thinks it necessary to raise two- or three-fold the barrier required for giving a language regional status stipulated by the law on the language policy enforced on August 10.

In a Friday interview with Ekho Moskvy radio she said: “It [the barrier] should be raised after all. To 20-30%. And these are the amendments to the law which we spoke of at the meeting with the president [on August 7],” she said.

Herman felt that the amendments could be adopted.

In her opinion, the language law is “hasty, very rough”.

“It contradicts many other statutory acts and laws. Therefore it has to be modified,” she added.

The presidential advisor said that significant amendments should be made in the law already in September.

The law on the principles of the state language policy in Ukraine, which significantly broadens the use of the Russian language and other minority languages in the country, came into force after its official publication on August 10.

The law, authored by parliamentarians Vadym Kolesnichenko and Serhiy Kivalov from the Regions Party, was adopted by the parliament on July 3, triggering protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

[UA EUROPE EEU EMRG POL]

09:19:53 EET-2