ALL-UKRAINIAN INITIATIVE “FOR PEACEFUL PROTEST!”

The participants of the initiative are convinced that

peaceful protest often remains the only way to influence the authorities. People take to the streets to demand a better life for themselves and their families, to defend fair salaries, pensions, scholarships and taxes. Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens have already defended their interests through peaceful protests.

Currently, the Verkhovna Rada is considering draft law No. 2450. This draft law establishes restrictions on holding any peaceful protests. In addition to attempts at legislative restrictions, law enforcement agencies have recently been responding more aggressively to peaceful protests. Sociological monitoring data from the Center for the Study of Society indicate that after the election of Viktor Yanukovych as President of Ukraine, repressions against activists increased from 14 per 100 protest actions to 18. The recent protests near the Verkhovna Rada also demonstrate the growth of social aggression.

That is why we advocate for the regulation of the right to peaceful protests at the level of legislation and practice of law enforcement agencies and local government bodies. The OSCE, whose experts recently visited Kyiv and expressed support for the initiatives of public organizations to regulate the right to peaceful protests in Ukraine, also expresses the same position.

To get information about planned events in the regions, visit the initiative’s website:

For more information: Volodymyr Chemerys — 050-380-6268.

Coordinators of the All-Ukrainian Campaign to Protect the Right to Freedom of Peaceful Protest in Chernihiv Oblast

Roman Zhankovsky (Civil Organization MART)

Tel. 050-383-33-42

Viktor Tarasov (Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights)

Tel. 067-715-77-39