Anti-language bill protest taking place in Kharkiv
KHARKIV. July 4 (Interfax) - About 50 Kharkiv activists from the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" (Freedom) are holding a rally against the bill on the state language policy outside the regional administration building in Kharkiv.
"We are calling on the president not to sign this shameful bill passed in breach of regulations. This law is jeopardizing the integrity of the Ukrainian state," one of the protest organizers, Mikhail Sokolov, told reporters.
The rally is the beginning of an indefinite protest, he said, without specifying, however, in which form it will continue. "This matter is still being decided," Sokolov said
It was reported that on Tuesday Verkhovna Rada voted for the bill, "On the Foundations of the State Language Policy," significantly broadening the use of Russian.
The parliamentary opposition claims the language bill was passed on July 3 with multiple violations.
Soon after the vote, a protest began outside the Ukrainian House in Kyiv, which gathered around 700 people. Clashes occurred between protestors and law enforcers on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
