I Am Greatly Concerned by the Current Situation in Ukraine, Says PN Member Elmar Brok

“I am greatly concerned by the current situation in Ukraine. With the unilateral adoption of a controversial amnesty law, President Yanukovych shows that he has little intention to listen to the demands of his people and to work constructively with the democratic opposition on the resolution of the crisis, including on the constitutional reform and on the electoral law. The spiral of violence must be stopped, and the authorities must create the conditions for this.

I fail to understand why the people who have been unfairly arrested or brutally beaten, and those whose relatives have disappeared should need an amnesty law to see justice finally re-established.

These people have seen their fundamental rights trampled because of undemocratic laws adopted in an undemocratic fashion. These laws have now finally been repealed, in the face of massive popular protest and international outcry. On what ground are their victims still kept in custody and the perpetrators of violence allowed to go unpunished? Why do we need an amnesty law for this, a law which sets unfair conditions and mixes up victims and perpetrators?

President Yanukovych should listen to his people and engage in a serious, unconditional and unambiguous dialogue with the opposition. What is happening in Ukraine is inconsistent with repeated statements by the government that Ukraine remains committed to its European ambitions. Violence and intimidations are not worthy of a democratic state and if they continue we should respond with targeted sanctions against those who carry the responsibility, directly and indirectly, for them.”

PN member Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee, was in Kiev from 27 to 30 of January with a cross-party, high ranking delegation of 12 members of the European Parliament. This high ranking delegation, which included José Ignacio Salafranca (EPP, ES), Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP, PL), Ana Gomes (S&D, PT), Marek Siwiec (S&D, PL),Tonino Picula (S&D, HR), Johannes van Baalen (ALDE, NL), Rebecca Harms (Greens/ALE, DE), Pawel Kowal (ECR, PL), Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL, DE), Jacek Kurski (EFD, PL), Adrian Severin (NI, RO), had meetings with opposition leaders, representatives of civil society , representatives of the media, human rights defenders, think tanks, with members of the Rada and with government representatives.

Originally published on Elmar Brok's homepage.

Photo by snamess.