You're reading: OUN rejects Tymoshenko’s calls to form united opposition

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) political party has rejected Yulia Tymoshenko's calls to unite all of the national patriotic forces led by her eponymous bloc, the BYT.

Such a statement was made at a party congress in Lviv on Tuesday, the party’s press service reported.

The OUN said that Tymoshenko "is pursuing the goal of defending in opposition only her own interests, the interests of BYT businessmen-oligarchs … and working in the Kremlin’s interests to destabilize the political situation in Ukraine, rather than Ukraine’s national interests and the status of OUN leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych as Ukraine’s national heroes."

The statement says that "the OUN is a political force opposed to President [Victor] Yanukovych, and demands that he reject the idea of cancelling the Hero of Ukraine status given to Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych. The OUN demands that Yanukovych continue the practice of recognizing fighters for Ukraine’s independence, which was launched by [his predecessor Viktor] Yuschenko, and posthumously award the Hero of Ukraine titles to Symon Petliura and Yevhen Konovalets."