Posted by Roman Panchyshyn on March 20, 2000 at 15:51:27:
In Reply to: Re: Language Debate (No Debate) posted by Slawko on March 20, 2000 at 14:30:49:
I hate to shy away from a good debate, so here goes!
Point. Ukraine is already an independent country, Quebec is not. The current territory of Quebec includes not only English speaking regions but Native American and Inuit regions where French is hardly spoken. Quebec is having the same debate with the English and Native Americans wishing to secede from Quebec as you have pointed out in your message about Russian parts of Ukraine wishing to secede and join Russia. (Frankly, I have not heard about any large regions of Ukraine wishing to secede and join Russia.) You point out that 92% of the Ukrainian "people" supported a free Ukraine. However, in Quebec's last referendum, less than 50% of Quebecers supported Quebec independence. What this means is that many non-Ukrainians supported an independent Ukraine, while a large percentage of French Canadians still wish to remain part of Canada. Why?
Perhaps Ukraine treats its minorities better than Quebec? Perhaps an independent Ukraine is more viable than an independent Quebec? If you look at the referendum votes in Quebec, you will see that over 90% of non-francophone voters voted against Quebec independence. There is a simple reason for this. The Quebec independence movement is based on racial and ethnic lines, non "pure-laine" citizens of any other race or color are not welcome. There is still a sizeable group of Quebecois voters that recognize this intolerance toward non-francophone minorities, and vote against the separatists. So, the goal of the separatists now rests on driving enough of the English and non-francophone population out of Quebec so that it can win a majority in the next referendum.
Does this situation exist in Ukraine? We have independence, even though we will always have a potentially hostile Russia on our border. Ukraine's voters of almost all races and ethnicity supported Ukraine's independence. There is nothing wrong with making Ukrainian the official language of Ukraine. There is also nothing wrong with allowing minorities in Ukraine to retain their own language, institutions, culture, and educational systems. Russians should have a right to send their children to Russian schools, as long as the curriculum taught there meets the requirements of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education. Also, Ukrainian language should be compulsory, even in a Russian or non-Ukrainian school system, because, after all, these children would need to know the official language of the country in order to be able to live and work in it. However, would you also pass laws barring a Ukrainian parent from sending his child to a Russian school if that is what they wanted? How would the goal of closing down Russian radio and television stations or limiting the use of Russian or other languages in the educational system help an independent Ukraine prosper? Are you afraid that if Ukraine shows "tolerance" to ethnic Russians, they will all leave Russia in droves and immigrate to Ukraine, making Ukrainians a minority in their own country? Your point about Chechnya is well-taken, human rights in Russia is so abysmal that Ukraine would be a good alternative for many Russians.
Here's my point. Is Ukraine a state based on ethnicity and race or based on territorial sovereignty? Can a non-ethnic Ukrainian be accepted as a citizen of Ukraine? Would a non-ethnic Ukrainian want to become a citizen of Ukraine? Hell, I leared French when I lived in Quebec, but I knew that I would never be accepted by the seperatists because of my ethnicity. So, do we go for tolerance or for the Kosovo solution?
Roman Panchyshyn