Ukrainian experts have been tasked to draw up bills that would liberalize the anti-protest laws, passed by the Ukrainian parliament on January 16, lawmaker Volodymyr Oliynyk of the pro-government Party of Regions faction has announced.
President Viktor Yanukovych deems it necessary to restart the
discussion of the laws passed on January 16 and to amend them, he said.
He said prison confinement could be replaced by a fine, but added that “the new regulations must become a subject of talks.”
The president’s most serious message is that no force will be used
against peaceful demonstration, although those who seize buildings and
commit offences must be prosecuted, both organizers and those who
finance the violence, the lawmaker said.
Talks are seen as the main instrument of settling conflicts, he said.
Therefore, a set of proposals has been made, including that of
appointing leader of the Batkivschyna parliamentary faction Arseniy
Yatseniuk, a person with the vastest managerial experience, as prime
minister. Yatseniuk was a parliamentary speaker and national bank
chairman, Oliynyk said. The president also proposed that leader of the
UDAR faction Vitali Klitschko, as a person who has no such experience,
be offered the post of deputy prime minister for humanitarian issues,
Oliynyk said.
Answers have been found to proposals made by the opposition, including the issue of reviving the 2004 constitution, he said.
Such a step should be definitely made in a constitutional manner, he
continued. Section 13 of the Ukrainian constitution says how the
constitution can be amended. For instance, proposed amendments should
win the support of 300 lawmakers, and two voting sessions should be held
following an expert assessment. The second option is to call a national
referendum with the political parties agreeing in advance that they
will apply the results of the referendum to the constitution, but again
with support from 300 parliamentary deputies, the lawmaker said.
Concerning the Central Election Commission, the president backed the
proposed replacement of some of its members given that the tenure of 12
members expires in June.
“Guided by European experience, the president proposed forming a
central election commission based on the proportional principle,
depending on the political forces’ representation in parliament,”
Oliynyk said.
