“Everyone has the right to use the mother-tongue and choose the language of communication. The state guarantees the right to choose the language of education and upbringing in conformity with the law”. In the case this Constitution article was really respected in real life, most probably the agenda of the assembly of Frantsishak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society (the largest public NGO dealing with defense of national values) that took place on 30 October would have sounded like “Success and progress in development of Belarusian, the state language” and the authorities wouldn’t have twice refused to provide the room for this event.
As a result of the assembly there was adopted a resolution on the contemporary situation and perspectives of the development of Belarusian language and the appeal to participants of the presidential election of 2006, the statements concerning the situation of Belarusian language on the TV, the establishment of the National University and the attitude of the EU Commission to the language of the radio broadcasts to the country. At the assembly Belarusian Language Society re-elected its chairman – it’s the fourth two-year term for Alieh Trusau already.
15 years ago, on 26 January 1990 the law on languages was adopted. It declared Belarusian the only state language. As a result of the referendum that was held in 1995 Belarusian shared the status of the state language with Russian. As a result Belarusian schools, TV channels and some other sources for promotion of the native language disappeared. Now one still has the right to study in Belarusian, but sometimes it must be defended it in court. The children who want to learn in their mother-tongue can learn at home, in few existing forms with Belarusian language of instruction or in the underground Belarusian lyceum. There are still no Belarusian universities. In most countries of the world people who speak their native language (moreover, the state one) are called patriots, whereas in Belarus they are labeled as “nationalists” by the authorities.
It is difficult to implement the decisions taken at the assembly. The development of Belarusian language is among the sharpest and the most discussed issues in Belarusian society. Nevertheless, BSL members treat the situation positively:
— With optimism, rational or pragmatic, whatever you call it, we will manage to make Belarusian the real state language. This language will conquer the minds and the hearts of all our compatriots, — said Aliena Anisim, chair of Minsk city BSL organization.
