Tymoshenko supporters campsite to stay at Khreschatyk during Euro 2012
A tent camp in support of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko outside the Pecherskiy District Court building in central Kyiv
AP
Supporters of jailed former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko will not remove their campsite in the center of Kyiv on Khreschatyk Street during the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, BYT-Batkivschyna parliamentary faction MP Yuriy Odarchenko has said.
“The campsite will remain standing here, and we will defend it until Tymoshenko is released,” the MP told journalists on Wednesday, during a rally at the campsite to mark the 300th day since Tymoshenko was imprisoned.
“Today we’re working to explain to the guests of Ukraine what is going on here, many foreigners come here and trust me they are mostly interested in development of democracy in Ukraine, as they know what it’s like to be a neighbor of an authoritarian state that is ready to go any length, which has been proved by history. So, they take interest in the fate of Tymoshenko and the opposition in Ukraine, many of them come here and ask what is going on here,” the deputy said.
When asked whether this means that the campsite will not be removed during Euro 2012, Odarchenko said, “It will definitely not. We won’t remove it. We will fight fiercely to leave it [the campsite] standing.”
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, around 50 people, including several MPs, were present at the rally to mark the 300th day since Tymoshenko was imprisoned. In particular, BYT-Batkivschyna parliamentary faction MP Andriy Pavlovsky delivered a speech at the rally.