In an interview with the Associated Press broadcast live on Russian Dozhd (Rain) channel and other stations on April 2, overthrown Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said Ukraine should consider holding referendums on local autonomy as "it's important to find consensus on this issue.”
“All Ukraine’s regions need to decide on this and I think referendum is the first step to constitutional reform. And only the reform could ease the tensions Ukrainian society faces,” Yanukovych said during the interview, adding that early presidential elections which were scheduled for May 25, will lead to further destabilization of the country.
He is certain that the upcoming elections will be neither fair nor democratic.
“You just need to recall how today’s leaders grabbed the power in Ukraine. There is and was no legitimacy or constitutionality here,” Yanukovych says. “How can we talk about democracy when bandit groups are guarding the Verhhovna Rada building and the lawmakers have to vote at gunpoint?” Yanukovych says, adding that voter turnout and the results of presidential elections will be suspect.
Ukraine’s ousted president also calls Russia’s annexation of Crimea “a tragedy” and says he hopes that Crimea will come back under Ukraine’s fold someday.
As Ukraine recently marked 40 days since the murders of many of EuroMaidan activists who were shot on Feb 18-20 in Kyiv, Yanukovych said he did not give the order to open fire on the protesters in Kyiv. He is a fugitive from justice in Ukraine, wanted on mass murder charges and numerous allegations of corruption.
He denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
“I never gave any orders to shoot, “ Yanukovych says. “And as far as I knew, special forces (who were protecting administrative buildings in Kyiv) never had weapons.” He assured that police merely “performed the functions they were provided by the law.”
Yanukovych recalled that radical protesters opened fire when he negotiated with the foreign minister of Germany, France and Poland leading up to a Feb. 21 compromise agreement.
“After signing the agreement with the opposition on Feb. 21, I started to honor the obligations and I was certain that the foreign ministers will follow my example. I instructed law enforcement and started sending special forces in place of their permanent deployment,” Yanukovych said. “I never thought it was a trick for the government and for me personally, but the gunmen attacked me and my security right that night.”
Yanukovych also expressed hope that the foreign ministers of the three countries he negotiated the agreement with — Germany, France and Poland — will consider his status because “I’ve never heard a word from them condemning militant groups who fired at my cortege,” he said.
Commenting on the government’s decision on Nov. 21 to stop European Union integration by rejecting an association agreement with European Union, Yanukovych defended the decision. “Otherwise it will contradict Ukraine’s national interests,” he said.
“Economy is the basis of politics. We couldn’t sign an economically disadvantageous agreement and we had to find a solution which would meet the interests of all parties – Ukraine, Russia and the EU. But we never thought the reaction to it would be so emotional and end up with radical protests,” Yanukovych said.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olena Goncharova can be reached at [email protected]
