Radical candidate for mayor of the Estonian capital Urmas Reinsalu has presented a “Plan for the protection of the Estonian language in Tallinn”, which calls for “eradicating” the Russian language, EurAsia Daily reports
The current administration of Tallinn is led by representatives of the Centre Party, which has a fairly liberal language policy and tries not to infringe on the rights of the Estonian capital’s Russian speakers, who make up more than 39% of the city’s population.
Reinsalu’s plan calls for transforming the city’s Department of Education into the Department of Education and Language and introducing a special deputy mayor who would be responsible for translating officials’ activities into the state language as much as possible.
“The measures and steps we propose concern not only the education sector, but the entire city. For this purpose we have created a separate Tallinn Council for the protection and development of the Estonian language […] The issue is that the state has a clear policy on the development of the Estonian language. Unfortunately, the “centrist” city government is hindering – both openly and secretly – its implementation. This has to stop”, – Reinsalu said.