LANGUAGE COPS, PARTIES CLASH OVER CAMPAIGN ADS.
Published:
29 September 1999 y., Wednesday
Estoniais language board ordered a Tallinn tram fleet to remove a political advertisement printed in both Estonian and Russian from the exterior of a tram car.The ad, the language board said, violates an election law that requires outside advertising to be printed in Estonian and only Estonian. The ad was placed by the Peopleis Trust, an electoral alliance that comprises several of Estoniais Russian parties. After the tram fleet removed the advertisement, the Peopleis Trust submitted a formal complaint against the language board to the Tallinn Administrative Court. The Estonian language law specifies that "public signs, announcements and advertisements shall be in Estonian." The National Language Board, which is charged with interpreting and enforcing the law, has interpreted this to mean "only in Estonian," excluding the possibility for translations into other languages. Urmas Veikat, assistant to the director of the National Language Board, insists that the wording of the law is quite clear on this point."If the law did allow bilingual signs, then the wording would be ein Estonian and in other languages. As it stands, only Estonian-language signs are allowed. This comes directly from paragraph 6 of the Estonian constitution, which declares Estonian the state language." Representatives of the Peopleis Trust claimed in a public statement Sept.20 that the current interpretation of the law deprives non-Estonian speakers of their right to information. Unlike in parliamentary elections, anyone with an Estonian residence permit has the right to vote in local elections. This includes approximately 300,000 Russian speakers in Estonia. Three Russian electoral unions - groups of parties who present a common list of candidates - are participating in the elections. The issue of Russian-language political advertisements arose during the parliamentary campaign last spring, when the language board ordered the Russian Party in Estonia to remove Russian-language posters. Other printed campaign materials, such as brochures and newspaper ads, may be in any language. The ban on foreign language use also does not include proper names or registered trademarks. The law holds the publisher of the advertisement, in this case the Tallinn tram fleet, responsible for not following the law.
Written by Tricia Cornell
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
EU animal welfare rules must be more rigorously enforced, with more inspections and effective penalties, said the Agriculture Committee on Wednesday.
more »
Fifty-three year old Rasima collects dirt everyday from a paddy field in Indonesia’s east Java province, turning it into a snack made entirely from soil, called "ampo."
more »
At the moment an Argentinian working for a French company in Spain can't travel to France for a meeting on his long-term visa.
more »
An EU-wide strategy is needed to combat violence against women, which must be recognised as a crime, said participants in a European Parliament public hearing with national parliaments and civil society representatives, held on Tuesday to mark International Women's Day.
more »
You know its Tet in Vietnam when Peach and Kumquat orange trees decorate every home, shop and public establishment.
more »
A surveyor has set up his tripod and instruments under a hot tropical sun to measure plots of land in a village where the Dac Kray minority community were settled four years ago.
more »
Japanese men are answering the call of Valentine s Day a month late.
more »
In three urgent resolutions adopted on Thursday, Parliament urges Hamas to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, deplores the escalating criminal violence in Mexico and calls on South Korea to scrap the death penalty.
more »
The plight of Europe's 10 million Roma population will fall under the spotlight Tuesday afternoon when MEPs discuss an upcoming Roman summit.
more »
EU Employment and Social Affairs Ministers have today adopted a Directive to prevent injuries and infections to healthcare workers from sharp objects such as needle sticks – one of the most serious health and safety threats in European workplaces and estimated to cause 1 million injuries each year.
more »