DUSHANBE, October 1, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The new law on the state language approved by the parliament today may have negative consequences, MP also the leader of the Communist Party (CPT) Shodi Shabdolov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to him, economic consequences of adoption of the new language legislation have not been taken into account.  “We are on threshold of elections to the parliament’s lower house.  Replacement of forms and seals of political parties that should be only in the state language is another barrier the government puts on our way to elections,” MP said, adding that some political parties, including CPT, do not have funds for replacement of them.

Besides, the new language legislation may cause outflow of skilled personnel from Tajikistan “for the simple reason that they do not know the state language.”

The Communist leader is confident that the new law may also cause deterioration of relations of Tajikistan with its strategic partner – Russia.  “It cannot be ruled out that Russia may impose a visa regime for Tajik nationals in the near future,” Shabdolov stressed.