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Caplovic Praises Vollebaek's Positive Stance to Running Measures
Tuesday 05 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 5 (TASR) - Deputy Premier for a Knowledge-based Society, European Affairs, Human Rights and Minorities Dusan Caplovic on Tuesday praised the positive stance of OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities Knut Vollebaek towards the recent adoption of the Government's running measures to the country's State Language Act.
"The OSCE High Commissioner stated that the measures for supporting the state language (effective as of January 1) don't affect the language rights of the members of ethnic minorities," said Caplovic's spokesman Michal Kalinak. He added that Caplovic believes that practice - based on implementing the running measures - that will follow will silence irresponsible politicians who have been exploiting the act in order to provoke.
The measures ensure the preservation of principles of non-discrimination and proportionality, and are therefore expected to safeguard the rights of members of ethnic minorities vis-a-vis the use of their mother tongues both in the public and private spheres, said Vollebaek.
Defined in the measures are expressions such as official and public relations, official language, and geographical name. Also explained is the meaning of terms such as the health and social facilities agenda.
As stated in the measures, the use of state, minority and foreign languages in the periodical press, and non-periodical publications published in minority and foreign languages aren't subject to supervision from public-administration bodies. Conversely, non-periodical publications in the state language fall under the supervision of the Culture Ministry.
Patients and also clients of social facilities can communicate with facility personnel in other than state language across the whole of Slovakia if they don't speak the state language. The use of the state language at these facilities isn't subject to supervision from public administration bodies.
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