17 January 2014
MEDIA RELEASE
Ukrainian World Congress strongly condemns legislation aimed at creating a fully authoritarian regime in Ukraine
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is deeply disturbed by the adoption by Ukraine’s governing authorities, on 16 January 2014, of laws aimed at destroying democracy and establishing a severe authoritarian regime in Ukraine.
The repressive laws, adopted by the ruling majority in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada and signed by President Viktor Yanukovych, blatantly curtail basic human rights and fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, and greatly extend the use of harsh forms of punishment, such as imprisonment.
“The Ukrainian World Congress considers that these laws constitute clear evidence that Ukraine’s governing authorities are abandoning democratic principles and are attempting to push Ukraine back to authoritarian times as they existed under the Soviet Union,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
