Ukrainian government won't allow ethnic discord to be fueled and will take all the legal measures to prevent anti-Semitism and xenophobia being imported to Ukraine, Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatseniuk has said. "We won't allow the Black-Hundreds [ultra-nationalist movement in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century] to spread to Ukraine, as well as disdainful and intolerable attitude towards those who follow other religions or have a different skin color. The ideology and practice of chaos, which is being exported from one of our neighboring states, won't work in Ukraine," the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers quoted the PM as saying.
This statement was made in response to reports of anti-Semitic leaflets being handed out in Donetsk and the escalation of xenophobic slogans at separatists’ protest rallies, as well as information that the Romani people were being assaulted in Sloviansk.
He also ordered that the law enforcers bring to light the authors and distributors of the materials that destroy national and human dignity of the citizens and bring these people to justice as persons involved in assaults on the Romani people.
Earlier, Internet publications of Donetsk region reported about the beginning of the assaults on the Romani people in Sloviansk. According to the media, armed people broke in the houses of the Romani people, hit them and stole from them, regardless of their age or gender. The attackers said that they acted under the order from “people’s mayor” Viacheslav Ponomariov, who said earlier that the referendum on federation and Russian language would be held in Sloviansk on May 11.
