DONETSK. April 30 (Interfax) - The new law on the use of the Ukrainian language recently passed by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada can only worsen confrontation in Donbas, Human Rights Commissioner of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Daria Morozova, said on Tuesday.
"The Russian language is an inherent element of the Ukrainian people, and the adoption of this legislation will lead not to settling the conflict in Donbas but to confrontation. This cannot be allowed," Morozova told journalists.
Not only does this legislation violate human rights, but it also violates the Ukrainian constitution, "which says that a person is entitled to use language without impediment," Morozova said.
Hopefully, this legislation will never be enforced, "to avoid human rights abuses," she said.
It was reported earlier that the Verkhovna Rada had passed legislation on the Ukrainian language, which stipulates its mandatory use in government bodies, local self-government bodies, and in other areas of society. Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky said that once he takes office he will make sure that the language law is analyzed for compliance with the constitutional rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens.
Morozova urged Zelensky on Tuesday to maintain dialogue with the self-proclaimed Donbas republics. "Without a direct dialogue, there can be no settlement and peace. The war started because the people of Donbas were not being heard. And it would be highly undesirable for a new Ukrainian government to replay the mistakes of 2014," she said.
"This is the main message to a new government of Ukraine," Morozova said.