Regions Party deputies of all the levels in Donetsk region unanimously adopted a resolution read out at the party's emergency congress on April 16.
Delegates left the assembly hall a few minutes after adopting the document.
According to the reporter of Interfax-Ukraine news agency, after
announcing the basic points of the resolution draft MP Mykola Levchenko
suggested that everybody present at the meeting vote on it.
There were deputies who disagreed with the resolution draft in the
hall. They tried voicing their opinion by shouting out their
suggestions, but Levchenko announced from the stage that the resolution
had been adopted unanimously.
After adopting the resolution, the deputies received recommendations
to go to their jobs, regularly meet with people and help them in any way
they can.
The participants of the convention started leaving right after the
announcement of resolution’s adoption. A few minutes later the hall was
empty.
In the resolution, deputies of Regions Party in Donetsk region urged
their countrymen to lay down arms and leave captured administrative
buildings: “We address all our fellow countrymen protesting in the
cities of Donetsk region, and urge you, ask you to lay down your
weapons; don’t put the lives of peaceful citizens at risk; leave the
captured administrative buildings.”
In addition, the document contains provisions on the necessity of
amnesty for the protestors: “No citizen of Ukraine and Donetsk region,
who joined peaceful protest rallies for his believes, must be held
criminally liable. We insist that a law to free such people from
punishment on any stage of an investigation or court hearing be adopted,
just like it was with the participants of protest rallies on
Independence Square in Kyiv. Ukrainian citizens must be equal.”
Regions party also insists on conducting immediate referendum on the
issues of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine: “The process of
making amendments to the Constitution and laws of Ukraine through
referendum, and in some parts – through voting in parliament, must be
initiated.”
The resolution also contains provisions regarding making Russian the
second national language and autonomous budget and humanitarian policy.
“We raise the question on amending the Constitution of Ukraine so
that once and for all Russian will be formalized as the second national
language and the authority will be divided between center and regions,”
reads the document.
“We strive for new principles of building regional government
agencies. It means direct nationwide elections of chairmen of regional
and district councils, formation of executive committees of regional and
district councils, dissolution of regional and district state
administrations, autonomous budget policy within the unitary country and
distribution of taxes between center and regions that will be
formalized in the Constitution and Budget Code of Ukraine,” reads the
resolution.
