Chairman of the National Commission on State Language of Kyrgyzstan, Ganibek Osmonaliev, announced that government and municipal officials will be dismissed under a new law if they cannot demonstrate proficiency in the Kyrgyz language.
Osmonaliev noted that there are debates surrounding the article in the new law that lists professions requiring proficiency in the Kyrgyz language, as it includes doctors and teachers who are not considered government officials.
On July 17, Kyrgyzstan's President, Sadyr Zhaparov, signed the constitutional law "On the State Language of the Kyrgyz Republic," making knowledge of the Kyrgyz language mandatory for government officials and representatives of certain sectors.
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, called this law "contradictory to democracy."
According to Osmonaliev, the "Law on the State Language" does not jeopardize the position and status of the Russian language in Kyrgyzstan.
"I don't know any country that is as tolerant towards the Russian language as we are. Even Belarus lags behind us in respect and democratic attitude towards the Russian language, despite being of Slavic nationality. Russian authorities say that the language is changing in Kyrgyzstan. See Article 2 of the law, which clearly states that the Russian language is used as an official language. Do we need to write about it a hundred times? The same provision is also stated in the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic. No other republic has this. Kyrgyzstan adheres to the principle of free use of languages. Every citizen has the right to create conditions for the development of their native language," said Osmonaliev.
Earlier, Sadyr Zhaparov also clarified that the "Law on the State Language" does not discriminate against the Russian language.
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