The Lviv Regional Intelligentsia Spoke in Support of the Russian Language

Translated from Russian by William Risch
Source

“We call on the Supreme Rada, newly appointed members of government, and the acting President of Ukraine to carry out a balanced cultural and language policy,” says an appeal signed by Yuriy Shukhevich, Igor’ Kalinets, Miroslav Marinovich, Ivan Vakarchuk, Roman Ivanichuk, Taras Vozniak, Anton Borkovskii, Zvenislava Kalinets, and Natalia Ivanichuk, according to news Tsenzor.net received from Espreso.tv.

“Ukraine has gone through tragic days. Hundreds of our fatherland’s children have been killed and thousands have been wounded. With tears in our eyes, we have buried the best, those whom Yanukovych’s regime killed. Along with this, we hear with alarm remarks about going on the offensive in the east and south of Ukraine. We call on the Supreme Rada to exercise discretion. The regime’s crimes should be investigated immediately, and all those who inspired, organized, and carried them out should be severely punished,” states the appeal.

But investigating crimes and prosecuting murderers and bandits should not turn into a “lynch mob” or a witch hunt, note the signatories. The most important thing is that the punishment of murderers should be inescapable and that the country should conduct consistent and deep reforms.

“We are aware that a deliberate policy of cultural colonization and de-Ukrainianization was conducted for decades in the south and east of Ukraine, one that simple people became hostage to. But we are against harassing people because of their place of residence or because of the language they speak, because only the enemies of Ukraine benefit from this. We call on the Supreme Rada, newly appointed members of government, and the acting President of Ukraine to conduct a balanced cultural and language policy. Thousands of residents of Ukraine’s east and south are disoriented and don’t understand what is going on, because they only hear Moscow’s propaganda. We have a chance to build a new, honest, and just Ukraine and preserve its territorial integrity. But we should not impose a Galician way of life on residents of Donetsk or the Crimea. Russians, Poles, Belarusians, Armenians, Jews, Georgians, Tatars, and others stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukranians on Maidan. A true love for Ukraine and hatred of tyranny united all of them. And they paid a very high price for this – their own blood. We should respect the cultural and linguistic needs of the residents of the east and south, so that they don’t feel like strangers in Ukraine. We should demonstrate a fundamentally new kind of Ukraine, one that does not artificially divide its citizens into different ‘sorts.’ And we call on you not to allow marginals on the political spectrum to speculate on blood and try to destroy the territorial unity of our state,” states the appeal.