On 25 June, the Kyrgyz parliament approved draft laws on the use of the state language. According to the legislative changes, it should become mandatory for civil servants, in particular judges and prosecutors, as well as members of parliament, to speak Kyrgyz as the state language.
According to the new law, the share of Kyrgyz language content in television and radio broadcasts in Kyrgyzstan should not be below 60 per cent. The names of localities must also be in Kyrgyz, and the font size in Kyrgyz language advertisements must be larger than the font size in Russian. Compulsory examinations in the state language are also being introduced in schools.
The deputies justified the need to adopt the amendments by the need to protect the state language. “If we are so indifferent to the Kyrgyz language, we will cease to be a nation in the coming years,” Agence France-Presse quoted Parliament Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu as saying.
Russian has official status in Kyrgyzstan. Most of the country’s population speaks the language. Russian is often used in everyday life, as well as in business.