Let Euro 2012 Go Ahead in Ukraine, Says Tymoshenko Daughter
Yevhenia Tymoshenko, daughter of Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, speaks during an interview with AFP in Kyiv on Oct. 12, 2011. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Yevhenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of Ukraine’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, told the BBC the Euro 2012 soccer tournament should proceed in Ukraine as scheduled.
“We understand the political boycott of European leaders who protect the rule of law, who respect human rights, who cannot go there and shake [President Viktor] Yanukovych’s hand,” Yevhenia Tymoshenko told the broadcaster on Wednesday, referring to several European countries that will boycott the tournament in protest of her mother’s treatment.
“But I think sports events should go on. … My mother, when she was in government, fought for the right to host this championship in Ukraine,” Tymoshenko added.
Yulia Tymoshenko was jailed earlier this year after being convicted of corruption during her time in office; a charge that she claims is politically motivated. She blamed Yanukovych, her political rival, for framing her with the conviction.
More than a month ago, Yulia Tymoshenko claimed she had been beaten by guards as she was being moved from her cell and went on a hunger strike for 20 days to protest her treatment.
But her daughter is still optimistic the political rivalry can be put aside and that her mother will be released.
“I really hope the situation can be solved before the championship. It’s completely in the power of the president to release political prisoners and let them participate in elections this year,” Tymoshenko’s daughter added.
Tymoshenko supporters, who have set up camp in the center of Kyiv, will keep up their visible protest of her imprisonment during the European soccer tournament reports the Kyiv Post.
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