From: gecas@comlab.ox.ac.uk (Kastytis Gecas)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.soviet
Subject: Re: "democratic" Estonia
Date: 28 Aug 92 19:11:45 GMT
Organization: Oxford University Computing Laboratory, UK
Originator: gecas@client72.comlab


 In Subjects: "News from democratic Lithuania", ""democratic" Estonia",etc.
Oleg Vishnepolsky (originator), Sergey Viznyuk,  Mikhail Verbitsky, 
Yury Mukharsky et al. write ...
>[omitted]

While reading this mess I was always wondering why there is such a strong
concern about a democracy in Baltic countries among these ex-Soviet guys. 
Read all the postings in t.p.s. posted in June-August and you'll find 
almost no postings about a democracy in CIS or Russia. Subjects on Lithuania, 
Latvia, Estonia, Finland,... Russians don't care 
of their own country?  Or I guess they can't get rid of being real adepts of 
`TALK-POLITICS-in-SOVIET-style`!

What an arrogance of the subjects ("News from democratic Lithuania",  
"Russian Parliament on the Human Rights violations in Baltics",
`"Democratic" Estonia') where the word democracy is used with or without 
quotes. Just imagine: News from democratic Germany, United States, 
Poland, or whatever country you are born or living. 

Recall "News from democratic Lithuania" where the main "issue" was
that of  a banned usage of Polish names for Lithuanian cities. 
Knowing nothing, or almost nothing about the real situation
ex-"big brothers" were trying to cry about an unfair situation of
Poles in Lithuania. I was wondering that these ex-Soviet guys were the 
only ones who were actually trying to continue the discussion.
Mr Verbitsky even taught Poles that they are the "bad" Poles. 

Now we are watching another piece of the soup opera "Democracy in Baltics": 
""democratic" Estonia" (though it actually became 
"One question about Finland"). Yes, the subject is not 
the "Citizenship in Estonia" or something alike 
which on its turn seems to be of a rather theoretical 
interest for Russian, Ukrainian and the other citizens (are they?). 
Note, no-one of those defenders of democracy does mention 
the law of citizenship in what they call "democratic" Lithuania. Neither,
what the law is in democratic (?) Russia itself, if any. 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In fact, no one from the company above is
interested in the law itself but in an opportunity to blacken the Baltics
in the same way as their soviet predecessors were doing years ago.
Furhermore, the speculation reached the top of the ladder: 
Russian Supreme Soviet has been discussing why some Russians may not 
become the citizens of ...Estonia?! 
They should prefer to think of their own citizenship and citizens.

I ask myself whether these guys misunderstand and simplify the notions of
citizenship, democracy, nationality, etc. or are they falsifying
 the issues intentionally. I think the exact answer was given in 
Mr Ryyti's posting 14643 of talk.politics.soviet.

> Sometimes I really
>suspect that Vizniyk is a KGB people because he is so active in spreading
>such information what KGB would like and some ultra nationals in Russia.
>Also the way to turn up and down the contents of the words like democracy,
>rasism,SU v. russians seem to me very typical tactics of KGB.
>You just try to give an other content for the words,disinfomation etc.
>So I were not at all suprised if Vizniyk & Co were revealed as 
>former or present KGB people.


Through all the follow-ups by the company above the issue of citizenship 
was being permanently changed
by a similar but not the same problem of permanent residence. 
Indeed, the company above simply uses
   "a permanent resident" is equivalent "a citizen".
Unfortunately, the things are not so simple, and the notion of citizenship
was developed by centuries, mainly by Western countries. 
In what follows I would like to return to the origin of the discussion--
the issue of citizenship and, in particular, to a test
of *official language* comprehension.

The citizenship is not only the rights (you can cite them yourself)
but also the duties --- to be loyal to the state, to obey laws, to defend 
the state from its possible enemies (Russia for Estonia?), and so on and so on.
And one of keystones in being a citizen is a comprehension
of an official language. It is not the question of a language you are speaking 
at home or wheresoever. It comprises different aspects.

  First,  a political one. There may be a lot of languages used in a society
but the official language is state's attribute (like flag or national anthem)
 and everybody must respect it. The examples might be  an alphabet, syntax,
a correct writing, an official use of geographical names (the case in Lithuania),
etc.
 Second, a social aspect. The language is intended for a communication. 
I think the importance of fluent communication is understandable 
to everybody if he or she wants to live in society and do his/her carrier. 
Not to mention, opportunities to realize the other rights and to fulfil the duties.
  Third. The language itself is a mirror and a heart of
a nation, its culture. A threat to the language is a threat to a nation.
 The first step to assimilation of some nation is the destruction of its 
language's basement-- what we call the feeling of a language. 
(Imagine an influence onto a language  by persons who misuse the language 
and whose amount is a third or more of population.)  And it is a real problem 
for such small nations as Baltics are.
  And last but not least--a psychological aspect, that of self-identification.
Someone who don't know the language will always feel himself (and will be
treated by the others similarly) as a stranger and foreigner. 
  
Maybe I've mentioned not all sides of the issue, I just tried to
express what and why a language is called official and why it is a legal issue
in Baltic states. Almost all countries try either in written, legal way or
in other ways to realise these principles above. Of course, like all rules
the law can't cover all the phenomena of a real life. 
BMHO the main purpose of the demand  on the language comprehension 
is to "assimilate" the people to become real citizens of a country.  
                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                
Kastytis Gec^as