Georgia marks Mother Language Day with commemoration of mass protest under Soviet rule
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the protests marked the first successful demonstration during Soviet rule. Photo: Government press office
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Institutions, officials and citizens in Georgia are marking Mother Language Day today, with the date commemorating mass protests that forced Soviet authorities in 1978 to abandon plans to strip Georgian of the status of the official language.
In comments on the date, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the protests hard marked the first successful demonstration during the Soviet rule, making the date a symbolic event.
It was the first time in the history of the Soviet Union when the regime had to step back due to popular protests”, said the PM.
He also noted the “unprecedented peaceful demonstration” 45 years ago and the “victory” of the Georgian people to protect their language became “exemplary” for other republics in the USSR and influenced the formation of the ultimate versions of their constitutions.
Our mother language is one of the most important determinants of our identity, unity and strength”, the PM stressed and highlighted his office had approved a 10-year strategy for protection and development of the state language.
Around 100,000 citizens marched from Tbilisi State University to the building of the Supreme Council in the capital in the demonstration against plans revealed by the Soviet authorities to strip Georgian of the official status. The protest led to the authorities ultimately shelving the plans.
The United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan and her diplomatic mission on Thursday marked the Georgian Language Day with a video address to the Georgian public, hailing their 1978 defence of the status of the language from Soviet authorities.
Georgian institutions and the public are celebrating Mother Language Day today, commemorating mass protests that forced Soviet authorities in 1978 to abandon plans to strip Georgian of the status of the official state language of the country.
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday stressed the "duty to preserve and treat with respect" the national language in remarks celebrating the Georgian Language Day across the country.
Georgia is celebrating Mother Language Day today, which marks the country’s victory over the Soviet repressive machine in maintaining the Georgian language as the official language.
Bjørn Berge, the Deputy Secretary General of Council of Europe, on Friday congratulated Georgian institutions, officials and citizens on the Mother Language Day by highlighting the “important historical background” of the date.
Tamar Taliashvili, Georgia’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, on Friday introduced facts on the Georgian language and the significance of Mother Language Day to members of the Committee of Council of Europe in comments marking the national holiday.
The Georgian Embassy in Turkey is in contact with the Georgian citizens in Sudan and their family members amid the fighting in the country between the army and a paramilitary group, the Georgian foreign office said on Monday.
The Georgian language was presented on Saturday at the special event in Bucharest on the occasion of the forthcoming European Day of Languages on September 26, with the Georgian Embassy in Romania joining German, French, Italian and English, as well as Spanish, Romanian, Greek and Turkish cultural institutions.