The Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Artsakh, Lusine Gharakhanyan, was asked by Aravot Daily in an interview about her opinion as the head of an agency in this sector regarding the draft of the controversial “Amendments and changes to the Law on language” in Artsakh, according to which Russian would become an official language of Artsakh in addition to Armenian.
“It would not be the second state language, but the second official language. As you know, Armenian as the state language is fixed in the Constitution of Artsakh. That draft simply includes Russian as an official language in addition to Armenian, which will not have an essential impact on the linguistic policies of Artsakh,” the minister said.
“Artsakh is Armenian, and the people of Artsakh speak and will speak Armenian since everyone in Artsakh understands that the Armenian language is not simply a method of communication. As the main struggle, it symbolizes our national identity and dignity and personifies the bright spirit of our nation and the unwavering will of our heroic martyrs. We are the language, each one of us. At the same time, we believe that there was no need to make amendments to the Law on language at the moment, no matter how much the authors connect it to current conditions. In any case, the Ministry of Education and Science of Artsakh, as in the past and future, will spare no effort to keep our golden mother tongue pure, as the distortion of language leads to the distortion of values and identity, and we cannot be indifferent towards this vital issue. Perhaps it could have been drafted at a later time, but I do not think that it will cause any damage because it will not be included in the education system. The drafted law will not have an impact on the education system of Artsakh,” Lusine Gharakhanyan emphasized.
Gohar Hakobyan
