TALLINN — The Cabinet of Ministers cannot come to an agreement about what to include in a proposed bill that would restrict the use of foreign languages, with the obvious target being Russian, in public advertising.

The bill, drafted by the Minister of Education and Science Tõnis Lukas was turned in for coordination among the ministers on June 14 with the stated goal of ensuring the Estonian language is used as main communication tool in all fields of [private_supervisor]public life. The state’s intention is to make sure that areas where foreign languages are used widely, such as banking and the wider economy, information technology and Estonian science facilities will use and develop Estonian more, according to the draft.

Given the large ethnic Russian population, about 25 percent of the total population, the most common language used in Estonia besides Estonia is Russian, especially in the capital of Tallinn and the northeast portion of the country.

Luukas told Postimees that as an example, the advertisements aimed at the ethnic Russian population put up by the Lasnamäe municipal channel are not in accordance with the principles of Estonia.

“It is used for sending a message to ethnic Russian voters which differs from the messages by the same parties meant for Estonian voters, and this splits our society,” said Luukas.

The Estonian Language Council supports the Education Ministry’s plan to reorganize the language usage of political campaigns. Professor Birute Klaas, director of Estonian Language Council insists that the draft bill does not ban political or other advertisements in foreign languages, but merely stipulates that the same ad must also be printed or broadcast in Estonian.

“Therefore the advertisements directed at a certain group can be in foreign language, but it must be also available in Estonian,” Klaas told the press.

The justice ministry is not on-board for the proposal, though. Justice minister Rein Lang disagrees with adding the language restriction to political advertising.

Lang sent a letter to Luukas saying that the government does not have the constitutional right to regulate anything related to political speech.

“Political advertisements can be addressed to a certain group of voters, and the best way to reach them is using their home language,” wrote Lang. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]public life. The state’s intention is to make sure that areas where foreign languages are used widely, such as banking and the wider economy, information technology and Estonian science facilities will use and develop Estonian more, according to the draft.

Given the large ethnic Russian population, about 25 percent of the total population, the most common language used in Estonia besides Estonia is Russian, especially in the capital of Tallinn and the northeast portion of the country.

Luukas told Postimees that as an example, the advertisements aimed at the ethnic Russian population put up by the Lasnamäe municipal channel are not in accordance with the principles of Estonia.

“It is used for sending a message to ethnic Russian voters which differs from the messages by the same parties meant for Estonian voters, and this splits our society,” said Luukas.

The Estonian Language Council supports the Education Ministry’s plan to reorganize the language usage of political campaigns. Professor Birute Klaas, director of Estonian Language Council insists that the draft bill does not ban political or other advertisements in foreign languages, but merely stipulates that the same ad must also be printed or broadcast in Estonian.

“Therefore the advertisements directed at a certain group can be in foreign language, but it must be also available in Estonian,” Klaas told the press.

The justice ministry is not on-board for the proposal, though. Justice minister Rein Lang disagrees with adding the language restriction to political advertising.

Lang sent a letter to Luukas saying that the government does not have the constitutional right to regulate anything related to political speech.

“Political advertisements can be addressed to a certain group of voters, and the best way to reach them is using their home language,” wrote Lang. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]public life. The state’s intention is to make sure that areas where foreign languages are used widely, such as banking and the wider economy, information technology and Estonian science facilities will use and develop Estonian more, according to the draft.

Given the large ethnic Russian population, about 25 percent of the total population, the most common language used in Estonia besides Estonia is Russian, especially in the capital of Tallinn and the northeast portion of the country.

Luukas told Postimees that as an example, the advertisements aimed at the ethnic Russian population put up by the Lasnamäe municipal channel are not in accordance with the principles of Estonia.

“It is used for sending a message to ethnic Russian voters which differs from the messages by the same parties meant for Estonian voters, and this splits our society,” said Luukas.

The Estonian Language Council supports the Education Ministry’s plan to reorganize the language usage of political campaigns. Professor Birute Klaas, director of Estonian Language Council insists that the draft bill does not ban political or other advertisements in foreign languages, but merely stipulates that the same ad must also be printed or broadcast in Estonian.

“Therefore the advertisements directed at a certain group can be in foreign language, but it must be also available in Estonian,” Klaas told the press.

The justice ministry is not on-board for the proposal, though. Justice minister Rein Lang disagrees with adding the language restriction to political advertising.

Lang sent a letter to Luukas saying that the government does not have the constitutional right to regulate anything related to political speech.

“Political advertisements can be addressed to a certain group of voters, and the best way to reach them is using their home language,” wrote Lang. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]public life. The state’s intention is to make sure that areas where foreign languages are used widely, such as banking and the wider economy, information technology and Estonian science facilities will use and develop Estonian more, according to the draft.

Given the large ethnic Russian population, about 25 percent of the total population, the most common language used in Estonia besides Estonia is Russian, especially in the capital of Tallinn and the northeast portion of the country.

Luukas told Postimees that as an example, the advertisements aimed at the ethnic Russian population put up by the Lasnamäe municipal channel are not in accordance with the principles of Estonia.

“It is used for sending a message to ethnic Russian voters which differs from the messages by the same parties meant for Estonian voters, and this splits our society,” said Luukas.

The Estonian Language Council supports the Education Ministry’s plan to reorganize the language usage of political campaigns. Professor Birute Klaas, director of Estonian Language Council insists that the draft bill does not ban political or other advertisements in foreign languages, but merely stipulates that the same ad must also be printed or broadcast in Estonian.

“Therefore the advertisements directed at a certain group can be in foreign language, but it must be also available in Estonian,” Klaas told the press.

The justice ministry is not on-board for the proposal, though. Justice minister Rein Lang disagrees with adding the language restriction to political advertising.

Lang sent a letter to Luukas saying that the government does not have the constitutional right to regulate anything related to political speech.

“Political advertisements can be addressed to a certain group of voters, and the best way to reach them is using their home language,” wrote Lang. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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