You're reading: Party of Regions proposes legal move to strip Bandera of Hero of Ukraine title

The Party of Regions of Ukraine is determined to secure the adoption of a law banning the rehabilitation and glorification of Nazi collaborationists in 1933-1945, which its authors believe would automatically annul the awarding of the Hero of Ukraine titles to Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych.

"It would be very difficult for the new president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, to annul the awarding of the Hero of Ukraine titles to Shukhevych and Bandera for legal grounds. After all, the statute of the Hero of Ukraine award does not stipulate the possibility that a decree on awarding this title can be annulled," said the press service of Vadym Kolesnichenko, a member of the Party of Regions of Ukraine parliamentary faction.

The decision to give the titles of Hero of Ukraine to Shukhevych and Bandera must be annulled, but this should be done "legally impeccably," he said.

Not only is it very difficult to annul presidential decrees, but in this particular case this might lead to bad consequences for more than 300 people awarded with this title, Kolesnichenko said.

On the other hand, if Yanukovych proposes amendments to the award’s charter to change the annulment procedure, it will be unable to apply them to the titles already granted, since the law cannot be retroactive, he said.

The only way to resolve the problem, according to Kolesnichenko, would be the adoption of a law banning the rehabilitation and glorification of Nazi collaborators in 1933-1945, which the party has already filed with the parliament.

"The adoption of the law will not only automatically annul President Yuschenko’s decrees on awarding Hero of Ukraine titles to Shukhevych and Bandera, as they would go against the law, but it will also provide a groundwork in society for opposing the supporters of radical nationalism and fascism, which have penetrated all branches of government," he said.