BLS has prepared a list of arguments about the discrimination of the Belarusian language

The facts gathered by Frantsishak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society (BLS) can be safely used in arguments when your opponent asks for evidence that the Belarusian language in Belarus is oppressed.

The arguments about the discrimination of the Belarusian language in the Republic of Belarus have been prepared within the framework of preparation of proposals to the draft national report on the implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

Monitoring the status of the state of the Belarusian language in our country, carried out over the past year, suggests that the existence of the state of the Belarusian language as a basic element of the Belarusian culture is under threat in various areas of its operation. The education system at all levels is of an especial concern,” reads the BLS document.

According to the National Statistics Committee, the number of pupils in the secondary schools who are taught in Belarusian in 2013-2014 was only 15.5%, 2.1% of them in the capital, Minsk, which is unacceptable.

The number of Belarusian-language schools in our country is decreasing every year, and the new onesare not opened. The situation is particularly difficult in the higher educational establishments. In some universities, there is only one subject taught in Belarusian – "Belarusian language. Professional vocabulary".

The number of hours for this subject has been reduced from 96 to 34 hours, and the form of the control of knowledge was changed from an exam to a record.

According to official data, voiced by Minister of Information Liliya Ananich during the opening of the International Book Fair in 2015, the number of books in the Belarusian language is 10% of the total.

Belarusian language, the language of the three Statutes of the Great Principality of Lithuania, is virtually ignored in legislation. Most of the various laws and regulations are adopted only in Russian, and there are no official translations. For instances, in 2014 the Council of Ministers adopted 1297 regulations, only 170 of which (13%) were in the Belarusian language. In 2014, only two laws adopted by the House of Representatives were in Belarusian. The Management of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus adopted only 9 decisions in the Belarusian language in 2014.

The state-owned newspapers "Minskiy Kuryer" and "Vecherniy Minsk" which have large circulations, a part of which are distributed free of charge, are founded by the Minsk City Executive Committee. They are published only in Russian, which is contrary to the constitution and referendum in 2005.

There are no Belarusian-language TV channels, there is no even a full-fledged Belarusian version of the website of the Belarusian TV and Radio Company.