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Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn resigns

04 July 2012 10:11 (UTC +04:00)

APA reports quoting RIA Novosti news agency that the bill was supported by 248 votes with a required minimum of 226 in the final reading on Tuesday. If the president signs it into law, Russian will acquire the status of a regional language in regions where it is the native tongue for at least 10 percent of the population, or 13 out of Ukraineâ€™s 27 administrative-territorial entities, including the capital, Kiev. Lytvyn is the chairman of the People’s Party, which holds 20 seats in the 450-strong Supreme Rada. Tomenko is member of the opposition Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc. Opposition supporters gathered at the entrance of the Supreme Rada building on Wednesday to protest against the bill. Clashes have erupted as protesters threw bottles at riot police, who have been trying to disperse the crowd using tear gas, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene. President Viktor Yanukovych is scheduled to give a speech in the building.

Under the bill, Ukrainian would actually remain the only state language, but restrictions would be lifted on the use of other languages spoken in the country, including Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian, granting them official regional status.

During his election campaign, President Viktor Yanukovych pledged to make Russian, a native tongue for many Ukrainians, a second state language.

Russian is still used in much of Ukraine, especially in the east, Crimea and Kiev, and there is a strong movement to protect the rights of Russian speakers. The bill allows the parliament, government, and other legislative and executive bodies to publish their decisions in the regional language, and enables TV companies to broadcast in that language.