Viachorka Comments on Lukashenka’s Statements Concerning Belarusian Language :: Charter'97 :: News

Vintsuk Viachorka, the leader of the Belarusian People’s Front Party gave the following commentary to the statements about the Belarusian language that were made by Aliaksandr Lukashenka during the press-conference with Russian journalists:

‘Usually I try not to comment those multi-hour plays. However, this time I was hooked by his demagogy about our language: ‘It is untrue that we don’t support the Belarusian language. We support it where it is necessary.’ I’ll draw just one fact witnessing the ‘support’ (taken from the dossier of the Belarusian School Society).

In curriculum year 1993/1994 (the last before Luashenka’s election) 76% of the children who learned in first or preparatory grades were educated in Belarusian. In the capital it was 58,6%. Two years later it was 37,9% and 19,5% respectively. This year only 21,4% first-grade pupils learn in Belarusian – the percentage has dropped below the barrier survival in the next generation that had been determined by UNESCO. It is unpleasant to say, but in Minsk it is only 2,4%.

I also concern the statement that many mathematical terms are impossible to express in Belarusian as direct insult of our language and those who speak it.’