Why isn’t banning the Federal Security Service in cassocks a priority? The Bankova got concerned… about movie dubbing.
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The scandal surrounding the presidential bill “On the Use of the English Language in Ukraine” (9432) is gaining momentum in parliament. Instead of bringing the government initiative (8371) to ban the FSB in cassocks (Moscow Patriarchate) to the session hall, Bankova is trying to expedite the issue related to… dubbing foreign films. There are no more urgent issues in the country.
Yes, late in the evening on April 22, the head of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, Mykita Poyutraev (“Servant of the People”), informed committee members in the chat that on April 23, when the Verkhovna Rada convenes, a committee meeting is suddenly scheduled. Urgently, they are supposed to review the conclusion on the presidential bill regarding the English language. Moreover, even close to midnight, the MPs don’t have the text they’re being asked to vote on. It didn’t come from Bankova.
The Verkhovna Rada’s regulations allow for the committee’s conclusion to be reviewed if MPs have the text in hand a day before its consideration and there’s still a need to gather votes. In the case of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, at least 9 MPs must vote in favor (the committee consists of 17 parliamentarians). The first condition is already unmet — there’s still no text for the MPs to vote on. Accordingly, it’s impossible to discuss this issue in the session hall if it doesn’t pass the committee.
MPs from the European Solidarity party, who are part of the committee, have already spoken out about pressure from Bankova.
The screenshot from the Facebook page of European Solidarity MP Volodymyr Viatrovych.
Under conditions of anonymity, representatives of the ruling party confirm that changes are being pushed through urgently from the President’s Office. Currently, there is no text of the changes that the committee is supposed to consider, and all that is known is that the dubbing of English films in theaters should be “in a 50% to 50% proportion.” At least, this is what they write in the committee chat.
Due to the absence of the text, it is currently unclear whether the 50% to 50% proportion refers to the number of screenings or the number of films. The issue of dubbing is not a matter of national security, which concerns the country’s defense capabilities and should be urgently brought to the session hall for consideration by the MPs.
Dubbing is an issue that can be calmly discussed with all stakeholders so that the public sector and the media can inform citizens: who will benefit from the new norm and who will lose out.
Will those involved in dubbing suffer? How does the European experience of subtitling affect the learning of foreign languages in EU countries? What will this give to Ukrainian film producers, and how can they produce a higher quality product under new conditions? Will this negatively affect blockbuster producers if demand for films falls? How will this affect the largest streaming platforms, such as Netflix, which increasingly dub their products into Ukrainian?
But all this cannot be discussed in less than a day when Bankova tries to break parliamentary procedures regarding dubbing.
Parliament finds it increasingly difficult to resist pressure from the President’s Office because for a long time, Bankova has been working to reduce the subjectivity of the Verkhovna Rada. And this has harmed and continues to harm the country’s political system.
As for the ban on the FSB in cassocks (Moscow Patriarchate), all factions and most groups have confirmed their readiness to vote for the government bill in response to the civil initiative “Holka.” And the committee chaired by Poturayev has passed this legislative initiative and is ready for the second reading. If MPs are ready to vote for this government bill, why is it not on the agenda?
It seems that issues of national security during wartime are less important than the issue of dubbing, which is being dragged out so slowly into the session hall.
And here’s the interesting part: who are they rushing with dubbing rules for, and who stands to gain the most from the new rules of the game?
Specially for “Glavkom”.
