Slovakia guarantees minority-language programming for all of its national minorities, but for the past twelve years Rusyns have been the only group which does not enjoy this right in practice. If all goes according to plan, however, Rusyn-language radio broadcasts should hit the air next month.

Slovak Radio announced that it has hired a four-man Rusyn-language broadcasting team. The team is led by Feodosija Lattova, who with 30 years of experience is a veteran radio journalist. The other three members are all under the age of 30: Alena Ficikova, Tanja Begeniova and Petro Kimak-Fejko.

Although none of the three have extensive radio experience, they will bring youthful enthusiasm and new perspectives to the project.

One of the major problems with the Rusyn movement worldwide is the lack of involvement by young people, as pointed out by the 6th World Congress of Rusyns last October in Prague. The selection of Ms. Ficikova, Ms. Begeniova and Mr. Kimak-Fejko is therefore a step in the right direction.

On 10 April, representatives of Slovak Radio met with Rusyn’ska Obroda to announce the team’s selection. The following day, the new team presented their program plan for May, when the broadcasts are slated to begin.

Rusyn-language broadcasts will be aired every other day throughout the week, as well as the first and third weekends of each month.

Rusyn’ska Obroda began agitating for Rusyn-language programming separate from Ukrainian-language twelve years ago, but has been met with only frustration.

Despite the fact that the Rusyn language was codified in 1995, thereby removing any substantial reason to deny Rusyn-language broadcasts, Slovak Radio continued to air only a mixed Rusyn-Ukrainian program. Slovak authorities insisted this was sufficient for both groups.

In its twelve years of protest, Rusyn’ska Obroda has petitioned not only authorities in Bratislava and Prešov about the issue, but also European institutions in Strasbourg.

Narodnŷ novynkŷ, the newspaper of Slovakia’s Rusyns, is cautiously optimistic about the recent events. Almost half of the 24 April 2002 issue was dedicated to the new Slovak Radio plan, but as one of the articles points out, there is no way to be certain that the plan will in fact be carried out.

In 1998, Slovak Radio had agreed to begin to differentiate between Rusyns and Ukrainians in radio broadcasts, however this was not carried out in practice.

See also: http://www.radiopatria.sk/nev/rusinske/index.html

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