Language Law Compromise in Moldavia Urged

Moldavia’s Communist Party chief, in an effort to placate outraged minority groups, proposed today that the republic adopt a weaker version of a law making Moldavian the official language, an activist said.

The compromise, which reportedly resulted from a telephone conversation between the party chief and President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, is aimed at stopping widespread strikes and other protests in the republic.

The initial proposed law would substitute Moldavian for Russian in virtually all government and business transactions in the republic. Russians and other minorities in the republic say the proposal is discriminatory.

Language for Government

The proposed compromise, outlined to the Supreme Soviet by Moldavian party chief Semen Grossu, would make Moldavian the language for government officials and documents, and Russian the tongue for everyday contact among the republic’s ethnic groups.

The Parliament had been expected to vote today on the language issue, but Yuri Roshka, a spokesman for the autonomist Moldavian Popular Front, said the vote had been put off until Thursday.

“The Parliament has appointed a commission to draft the final document. It will be presented to the deputies tomorrow morning and the vote will take place after 2 p.m.,” he told Reuters from the republic’s capital, Kishinev.

Compromise Proposal

The compromise proposal was reported by Vasily Nestase, a leader of the pro-Moldavian People’s Front who spoke by telephone to the Associated Press from Kishinev.

Moldavia, which borders Romania, now has no law specifying which language is to be used, but Russian has traditionally been the tongue for government affairs.