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Ukraine's Opposition Demands Investigation of Parliament Brawl
2010-12-17 13:26:26.838 GMT
By Daryna Krasnolutska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian opposition parties urged
the Prosecutor General to investigate a tussle in parliament
yesterday that left six people hospitalized.
Lawmakers loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych last night
scuffled with deputies who physically blocked the rostrum to
protest a criminal probe against former Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, the leader of the opposition.
"We demand the Prosecutor General's office thoroughly
investigate the acts of all of the fight participants,"
Tymoshenko's group said today in a statement posted on the
website of its allied Our Ukraine party.
The prosecutor's office summoned Tymoshenko yesterday,
accusing her of misusing funds from the 2009 sale of emissions
permits to Japan. Ukraine sold 30 million Assigned Amount Unit
credits to Japan for 10.40 euros ($13.85) each last year,
according to Bloomberg data.
Opposition lawmakers wanted to spend the night in the
assembly building in the capital, Kiev, to continue their
protest. Members of Yanukovych's Party of Regions returned to
the site at night and started the fight, according to
Tymoshenko's allies.
Mykhaylo Volynets, a supporter of the former premier,
sustained a head injury after being hit with a chair and was
taken to hospital, deputy Ivan Kyrylenko told lawmakers today.
'Fractured Bones, Faces'
"Those who fracture the bones and faces of their colleagues
should be held legally responsible," said Mykola Martynenko, the
head of Our Ukraine's parliamentary group, in an address to the
deputies. He called for the dismissal of Speaker Volodymyr
Lytvyn.
Yesterday's fight was the second act of violence in
parliament this year. Lawmakers in April clashed over extending
a lease for Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory in
an exchange for lower natural gas price. The vote then ended
with deputies hurling eggs and smoke bombs during a brawl that
led to injuries, including a broken nose and a concussion for
lawmakers from Our Ukraine.
Yanukovych supporters "were forced to take measures to
unblock the parliament and approve laws needed for the country,"
Oleksandr Yefremov, the ruling party's parliamentary leader,
told lawmakers. He said the opposition's aim was to halt work
until Dec. 31 to undermine the adoption of the 2011 budget.
For Related News and Information:
Top news on eastern Europe EEUT <GO>
Government news: TOP GOV <GO>
--Editors: Balazs Penz, Alan Crosby.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at +38-044-490-1252 or
dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Willy Morris at +44-20-7673-2254 or
wmorris@bloomberg.net;
