Head of Romanian Association 'Ioan Mihaly de Apsa' (Ukraine): I hope Ukrainian gov't changes education law

The head of the "Ioana Mihaly de Apsa" Association of Romanians in Ukraine, Vasile Iovdi, on Thursday stated while in Satu Mare that the new education law adopted in the neighbouring state is not "a big tragedy", but he still hoped that it would be changed, for there are many children and teachers whose future is unclear. 

"Because of the politics that it practices, unfortunately, the Ukrainian government does nothing but protect its own interests. We know that we are the third nation living in Ukraine, for we are 450,000 Romanian language speakers. In our region, Transcarpatia, we are the third population as dimension, after the Ukrainians and the Hungarians. I don't see a tragedy in it, we are not yelling that this is not OK, for each state has the right to defend its own interest, but it should have been a more civilized process. Laws are laws and we must observe them. But what about the children in Bucovina? There are 78 classes teaching Romanian there! What about the children in the region? What about the teachers of Romanian who need to specialize again now? There are problems and problems and I believe that the law will be changed somehow and it will not result entirely to one's desire," Vasile Iovdi said. 

He said that Romanians on the right bank of the Tisa always learnt Ukrainian in school, but they will never forget their mother tongue, for they speak it at home. 

Doctor Vasile Iovdi paid a visit to Satu Mare on Thursday, where he launched his book "Stories from the right bank of Tisa." AGERPRES .