FOR THE RECORD: Scholars write to Kuchma on state of Ukrainian language (08/15/99)

FOR THE RECORD

Scholars write to Kuchma on state of Ukrainian language

Below is the text of a letter dated July 7 sent to President Leonid Kuchma by the American Association for Ukrainian Studies and members of the Association for the Study of Nationalities gathered at the recent World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities.

Dear Mr. Kuchma:

The executive committee of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies, and 30 members of the Association for the Study of Nationalities at the fourth annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (The Harriman Institute, Columbia University, April 15-17), express deep concern with the status and current rapidly deteriorating conditions of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine.

It is because we fully respect the ideal of Ukraine as a multinational homeland for a variety of national and ethnic groups that we firmly believe this goal can be achieved only if there is a single common state language enabling all of Ukraine's citizens to communicate effectively and to interact harmoniously. The Ukrainian language as the language of the majority population of Ukraine naturally fills that role.

We appeal to you to adopt government measures that will strengthen the status of the Ukrainian language in the media, in the government, in the publication industry, in educational institutions, in scholarship and in research.

Dr. Michael M. Naydan, President
American Association of Ukrainian Studies

For the undersigned: Olga Andriewsky, Vera Andrushkiw, Antonina Berezovenko, Michael Bociurkiw, Jose Casanova, Natalia Chechel, Vitali Chernetsky, Anna Chumachenko, James Clem, Robert De Lossa, Marta Dyczok, Daria Dykyi, Liliana Hentosh, Alexander Hryb, Halyna Hrybowych, Alexandra Hrycak, Jaropolk Lassowsky, George Liber, Jaroslaw Martyniuk, Askold Melnyczuk, Alexander Motyl, Larissa Onyshkevych, Yves Plasserand, Anna Procyk, Roman Serbyn, Yuri Shevchuk, Natalia Shostak, Orest Subtelny, Frank Sysyn, Myroslava Znayenko.

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