Amid Russia Tensions, Ukraine Bans Communist Party After Ruling By Kyiv Court
Yesterday’s banning of the Communist Party in Ukraine is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression and association and should be immediately overturned, said Amnesty International.
A Kyiv city court has banned the Communist party of Ukraine, according to a ruling announced on Wednesday, acting on an appeal by the country’s Justice Ministry, which accused the party of calls for separatism and interethnic strife. The use of the term “communist” is explicitly prohibited by this legislation.
It is one step closer to extinction for the Communist party of Ukraine following its failure to win any parliamentary seats in last year’s elections.
The Communist party has spoken out against Kyiv’s military campaign against separatists in eastern Ukraine, calling it a war against its own people.
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Kyiv is seeking to cut ties with its Soviet past and a year ago chose to ban most Communist symbols and organisations. The Security Service of Ukraine claimed it had provided evidence of this to the Ministry of Justice, which then filed a motion to ban the Party in July 2014. In 2015 a spate of politically motivated killings remain unresolved and journalists and media known for criticising the current government have been harassed.
“Today’s decision may be seen by its proponents as dealing with the damaging vestiges of the Soviet past. In fact, it does exactly the opposite by following the same style of draconian measures used to stifle dissent”, he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
Ukrainian Communist Party head Petro Symonenko called the decision “illegal”, adding that he meant to appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights.
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