“Romanian will replace Russian”: Russians misquote Veridica in order to produce fake news

“Romanian will replace Russian”: Russians misquote Veridica in order to produce fake news
© EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT   |   Girls from Ukrainian village of Mahala in Bucovina county dressed in traditional dresses hold as they parade at a Bucovina Traditional Fair ahead of National Day in Bucharest, Romania, 29 November 2019.

"The Romanian language will replace the Russian language in Ukraine" writes the Russian press, basing its false claim on a Veridica article about a debate regarding the celebration of the Romanian language.

Nezavisimaia gazeta: Romanian will be used at official celebrations in Ukraine

Starting from a news item published on Veridica at the end of January, the newspaper Nezavisimaia gazeta in Moscow writes that the Government of Ukraine will organize a public debate in Kyiv to officially replace Russian with Romanian. The initiative to establish the Day of the Romanian Language in Ukraine is presented as being directed against Russian speakers.

The article signed by Svetlana Gamova reads that the idea belongs to the "Bessarabia" Association of Romanians from the Odesa region, which proposed the establishment of the Day of the Romanian Language in Ukraine following the model of the Republic of Moldova.

"If the decision is positive, Romanian will be the first language after Ukrainian to be used at official holidays in Ukraine," Anatol Popescu, president of the "Bessarabia" Association, is said to have declared, according to the Russian newspaper. The newspaper adds that Ukraine's Ministry of Culture is against this initiative because some ethnic groups may demand "official recognition of their languages, which would create tension in society."

Photo: screen capture Nezavisimaia Gazeta

Reality: Veridica wrote about a debate regarding the celebration of the Romanian language by the Romanian minority in Ukraine

"Nezavisimaia gazeta" tries to manipulate public opinion by intentionally misquoting the Veridica article, presenting the initiative of the Romanian community as being directed against Russian speakers. The purpose of this false narrative is to present some steps taken by Kyiv for the benefit of the Romanian community and any Romanian-Ukrainian bilateral collaboration as dangerous for Russia or for Russian speakers in Ukraine.

The Veridica news on  “ public debates in Kyiv for the establishment of the Day of the Romanian Language in Ukraine”  says nothing about the status of the Russian or Romanian languages in society, or about the “use of a language during the official holidays”.

Anatol Popescu told Veridica that if a positive decision is adopted, "Romanian will be the first language, after Ukrainian, to enjoy an official holiday in Ukraine". Therefore, it is a matter of celebrating the Romanian language by the minority that speaks it, not of transforming it into an official language and even less of organizing official events in regions other than those inhabited by ethnic Romanians.

The State Service of Ukraine for Ethno-Politics and Freedom of Conscience has actually recalled the celebration of the Ukrainian Language Day in Romania following a 2018 initiative by the president of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania, Nicolae-Miroslav Petrețchi; therefore, adopting a celebration of the Romanian language in Ukraine would represent a mirror decision.

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