The cultural and linguistic diversity is a value of Moldova, not a reason for discord. The learning of minority languages by the members of ethnic communities must be encouraged and supported by the state. For their part, the minorities must study the official language. At the same time, the linguistic problem is related to the protection of rights, not to geopolitics. Such issue were discussed in the roundtable meeting “Teaching and learning of a minority language as the mother tongue; teaching in the minority language and of the official language to minorities” that was staged by the Embassy of Hungary in Moldova, IPN reports.
Hungarian Ambassador to Moldova Matyas Szilagyi said the goal of the roundtable meting is to contribute to strengthening tolerant and multicultural society, to the prosperity of a country that is very rich in European traditions and to Moldova’s rapprochement with the EU. The keeping of multiculturalism and multilingualism integrates organically with the European values.
Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola underlined the importance of integrating society based on two complementary principles: building of the political nation and the respect for the rights of the minorities. He praised the linguistic diversity in Moldova, saying the keeping and protection of this diversity does not run counter to the necessity of promoting the state language as a means of integration into society. “We are returning to the need of finding a method to achieve this objective without excessively politicizing it. It is about rights, not geopolitics,” he stated, admitting that the linguistic problem can divide society. “When I started to work in Moldova, the polarization level of society was much lower than in other countries of the region, but it has increases and it is important to reduce it.”
Turkish Ambassador to Moldova Mehmet Selim Kartal said the mother tongue is like the breast milk and it is as important for an ethnical group as the breast milk for the human body. He gave as example the Turkish children in German who study both the German language and the Turkish language, underlining that it was scientifically proven that the studying of the mother tongue is not an obstacle to studying other languages. On the contrary. The learning of the official language is in the interests of the state and of the national minorities, which can this way take a more active part in the political decision-making process.
“It is the obligation of the state to help the minorities to study their national language, but the state has the right to expect the minorities to learn the official language,” said Polish Ambassador to Moldova Artur Michalski.
MP Vadim Misin, who heads the Parliament’s commission on human rights and interethnic relations, welcomed the EU’s accomplishments in the field, but said that the rights of the minorities must not be imposed as they must be wanted and accepted by the community. He noted that the people in Gagauzia prefer to study in Russian than in the Gagauz language. He underlined the important role played by the Russian language in society as an interethnic communication language, saying the Russian language gained this status not by a political decision, but because there was a real necessity in society.
The roundtable meeting “Teaching and learning of a minority language as the mother tongue; teaching in the minority language and of the official language to minorities” brought together representatives of embassies working in Moldova, the authorities and of ethnic and cultural organizations as well as experts and teachers from Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova for an exchange of experience and good practice. The meeting was organized by the Embassy of Hungary in partnership with the Interethnic Relations Bureau of Moldova and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
