President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that strengthening the position of the state-Kazakh-language should not lead to infringement of the Russian language.
According to the Constitution, the Kazakh language is the state language in Kazakhstan. In state organizations and local self-government bodies, Russian is officially used along with Kazakh.
"Strengthening the position of the Kazakh language, we should not infringe on the status of the Russian language, "he said in an interview with the newspaper "Ana tili" (Native language), published on Thursday.
According to Tokayev, the language problem has a huge political significance and improper handling of it can lead to irreparable consequences for the state and security of the country's citizens. "We have seen this with our own eyes on the example of Ukraine. A frontal attack aimed at raising the status of the state language and forcibly expanding the area of its use is counterproductive since it can provoke the destabilization of interethnic relations," the head of state noted.
He believes that Kazakhstan should take into account the geopolitical background, in which the world's longest land border with Russia stands out. "Geography is also an important factor in geopolitics. But this does not mean that the work should be frozen. It should be continued, and it should be done without noise, stress, self-aggrandizement, " he added.
Tokayev noted that in order to strengthen the position of the Kazakh language, it "should become a prestigious, popular language in our society." "When appointing to public positions, especially those associated with public communications, preference should be given to those who, along with professional qualities, have a good command of the Kazakh language. Civil servants who do not know how to conduct discussion and dialogue in the state language in Parliament or at press conferences should become an anachronism," he stressed.
At the same time, in his opinion, it is necessary to support and encourage representatives of other ethnic groups who speak the Kazakh language well. "To elect them to the parliament and representative bodies, to appoint them to high positions in the public service system, and to award them with state awards. Such people will help raise the Kazakh language to the level of the language of international communication, " he concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti