Istoricul și jurnalistul George Damian, un raportor constant al situației românilor din Ucraina, co-autor al unui studiu pe acest subiect, realizat pe teren și publicat cu sprijinul Guvernului României, s-a enervat pentru că un oarecare - nu știm cine, vreun tefelist, oengist, sinecurist - îl contrazice cu privire la încălcările repetate ale drepturilor omului și ale minorităților de către regimul de la Kiev. Și a dat o replică, pe documente. O preluam aici de pe contul său personal de Facebook:

Cum tratează Ucraina minoritățile naționale, faza pe documente

Mi se atrage atenția că un oarecare spune despre mine că mint atunci când afirm că documentele Consiliului Europei consemnează discriminarea continuă a minorităților naționale în Ucraina. Mai jos am făcut o selecție din rezoluțiile Comitetului de Miniștri al Consiliului Europei privind implementarea Convenției Cadru pentru Protecția Minorităților Naționale în Ucraina.

Nerespectarea de către guvernele succesive de la Kiev a drepturilor minorităților naționale este mult mai bine documentată în rapoartele care stau la baza acestor rezoluții, unele de sute de pagini; multe chestiuni documentate în detaliu nu și-au făcut loc în aceste rapoarte și nici în rezoluții.

Dar ideea este alta: statul ucrainean a dus în ultimii 30 de ani o politică agresivă de asimilare a minorităților naționale.

Mi se va spune „dar de ce te apuci să scoți la iveală problemele astea vechi? Ucraina este în război acum, nu are timp de astfel de chestiuni!” Păi tocmai asta e beleaua, că Ucraina are timp de astfel de chestiuni, tocmai ce a promulgat în timpul războiului noi legi care restrâng drepturile minorităților naționale. Ideal ar fi fost ca Zelensky să se țină de cuvânt și să amâne legile acestea pentru perioada de după război. Apoi este deranjantă acuzația că aș minți când spun că documentele Consiliului European arată cum încalcă Ucraina drepturile minorităților naționale. Încă o dată: în rezoluțiile care urmează situația reală este mult diluată și este folosit un limbaj diplomatic, în realitate problemele sunt mult mai multe și mult mai mari. Problema este discrepanța dintre idealurile clamate și practica guvernului de la Kiev, ca să nu mai vorbim că toate aceste rezoluții atârnă greu în cântar când vine vorba de aderarea la Uniunea Europeană.

Asta nu înseamnă că Ucraina nu trebuie sprijinită în fața invaziei ruse, însă nu există nici un motiv pentru care ar trebui să fie abandonată minoritatea românească din Ucraina. Și acum să vedem ce zice Consiliul Europei în urma mai multor cicluri de monitorizare începute în anul 1999.

2003 - Rezoluția Comitetului de Miniștri al Consiliului Europei privind implementarea Convenției Cadru pentru Protecția Minorităților Naționale în Ucraina:

- Certain shortcomings remain, and some setbacks have been observed, in the legislative framework pertaining to the implementation of the Framework Convention

- (...) disputes related to language issues have caused tension. It is therefore crucial that the pending legislative and practical initiatives in this sphere are pursued in full compliance with the Framework Convention.

- The implementation of the Framework Convention needs to be improved as regards Crimean Tatars and other formerly deported people, inter alia, in terms of their participation in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs (...)

- The implementation of the Framework Convention in the educational sphere merits particular attention from the authorities with a view to ensuring that the on-going reforms in this sphere do not result in undue limitations on the existing right of persons belonging to national minorities to receive instruction in and/or of their languages.

2011 - Rezoluția Comitetului de Miniștri al Consiliului Europei privind implementarea Convenției Cadru pentru Protecția Minorităților Naționale în Ucraina:

- Apart from some legislative initiatives, there have been no major developments in the legislation pertaining to national minorities. The current legislative framework is partly outdated, lacks coherence and contains a number of shortcomings. There is, therefore, a vital need to adapt the national legislation, including the law on national minorities, to the relevant international standards, including the Framework Convention.

- The right balance needs to be struck between the legitimate aim to promote the use of the Ukrainian language and the necessity to support the use of minority languages in various fields of public life. Ongoing reforms should be pursued in accordance with a coherent and comprehensive language policy, which remains to be developed. It is essential that the principles underlying such a policy enjoy broader consensus to ensure a stronger sense of ownership by the population, including persons belonging to national minorities.

- Ukraine has still not adopted comprehensive civil and administrative provisions pertaining to discrimination and the lack of reliable statistical data on instances of discrimination makes it difficult to develop targeted policies in this field.

- There has been a worrying increase in the number of racially motivated acts and manifestations of hostility targeted at various groups, including persons belonging to certain national minorities.

- A lack of financial support from the state makes it difficult for some national minorities to maintain and restore their cultural monuments and cemeteries.

- The share of instruction in the Ukrainian language has continued to increase at all levels of education while, according to the assessment made by persons belonging to some national minorities, instruction in minority languages has been decreasing.

- The shortage of quality textbooks and qualified teachers for teaching in minority language persists.

- While it is legitimate for the Ukrainian authorities to promote the use of the state language, the ongoing reforms in the field of education should not have a negative impact, for persons belonging to national minorities, on equal opportunities in accessing higher education according to their needs.

- The participation of persons belonging to national minorities in public affairs has been hampered following legislative changes in 2004, which introduced an electoral system of pure proportional representation in one nationwide constituency.

2013 - Rezoluția Comitetului de Miniștri al Consiliului Europei privind implementarea Convenției Cadru pentru Protecția Minorităților Naționale în Ucraina:

- The 1992 Law on National Minorities remains in force, despite being outdated and inconsistent with the new Law on the Principles of State Language Policy. No significant progress has been made with regard to the status of formerly deported peoples or the restoration of their rights (...) The dissolution of the State Committee for Nationalities and Religions at the end of 2010 is widely seen as having left an institutional vacuum as regards minority rights protection.

- Inter-ethnic hostility and racially-motivated offences are increasing, particularly in Western Ukraine and the Crimea, and are sometimes fuelled by the local media as well as some politicians. Allegations of police misconduct and harassment, including the excessive use of force, against some minority groups in particular, continue to be reported.

- Clear criteria and transparent procedures for the allocation of financial support for the cultural activities of national minority associations are still lacking which prompts the perception that support is granted arbitrarily and risks creating tensions between the various groups concerned. In addition, minority representatives do not have sufficient opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes on the allocation of support.

- More efforts must also be made regarding the restitution of religious property to national minority religious communities, and due attention paid to the particular significance of religious buildings and monuments for their cultural and religious identities.

- The support for minority language print and broadcast public media is considered insufficient to meet the needs of national minority communities.

- The Law on the Principles of State Language Policy was adopted without taking into account the numerous proposals for amendments that had been put forward and without comprehensively consulting representatives of all minority communities.

- Despite some progress made concerning minority language education, clear legal guarantees for the provision of minority language instruction are still lacking and the decision on opening minority language classes is left to the local authorities. This results in discrepancies in the levels of enjoyment of the right to minority language instruction in the different regions.

- Minority language education in Western Ukraine is also insufficient, particularly according to Romanian and Polish minority representatives, who point to a considerable number of villages without minority language instruction despite being inhabited substantially by these minority communities.

- More efforts must be made to ensure that minority language institutions receive an adequate supply of textbooks, as well as in the area of teacher training for instruction in minority languages.

- The dissolution of the State Committee for Nationalities and Religions at the end of 2010 has resulted in an increase of applications to the Ombudsman Office from persons belonging to national minorities as well as from minority associations. Urgent action should be taken to re-establish a specialised government body with sufficient financial and human resources to co-ordinate the activities of the various ministries concerned with issues pertaining to national minority protection, such as language policy, education, social policy and land distribution.

2020 - Rezoluția Comitetului de Miniștri al Consiliului Europei privind implementarea Convenției Cadru pentru Protecția Minorităților Naționale în Ucraina:

Recommendations for immediate action:

- Ensure respect for and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities including existing rights as enshrined in relevant, related international treaties to which Ukraine is party, and related documents;

- Adopt as a matter of priority in close consultation with the groups concerned an adequate and comprehensive legal framework for the protection of national minorities with effective implementation mechanisms;

- Promote respect and intercultural understanding among different groups in society as a whole, including through comprehensive measures that target the majority population; combat stereotypes and prejudice in political discourse and promote tolerance and intercultural dialogue throughout society as a whole;

- Respect the principle of non-interference of the State in the religious life of Ukrainians and avoid any actions which could threaten interconfessional peace in society;

- Continue efforts to develop, in consultation with all relevant groups, a clear and coherent legislative and policy framework regarding the use of languages in order to provide solid legal guarantees for the protection and use of all minority languages, including the numerically smaller ones;

- Introduce flexibility in the implementation of the administrative territorial reform and ensure that the availability and quality of education in minority language schools does not suffer as a result of the regionalisation of the access thereto or as a result of the establishment of large hub schools; design comprehensive and long-term measures to enhance the availability and quality of State language teaching and minority language teaching in the public education system through measures aimed at striking a proper balance between the promotion of the State language and the language-related rights of persons belonging to national minorities; take into account the cultural identity and heritage of persons belonging to national minorities during the reform process;

- Implement the recommendations contained in the Venice Commission Opinion on the Provisions of the Law on Education of 5 September 2017.