 Source: Youth Human Rights Movement Human rights defenders of the post-Soviet states have appealed to the Ukrainian authorities, and also to those taking part in the Euromaidan demonstrations, expressing deep concern about the situation in Ukraine, a country which, among other things, this year holds the chairmanship of the OSCE. ‘We are concerned about the tendency towards the resort to violence among participants in the conflict,’ the appeal states. The human rights defenders, in particular, propose that both sides ask the member states of the OSCE, through their embassies, to send observers and conduct monitoring of the events on the basis of methods developed and agreed by the OSCE. The full text of the appeal can be read below. APPEAL We, human rights defenders from the countries of the OSCE, express our deep concern about the situation in the country which is current chair of the OSCE, Ukraine, a country which is now in evident political crisis, provoked by the decision to refuse further integration with the European Union and the violent break-up of a peaceful demonstration on the Maidan (Independence Square) on 30 November 2013. We are concerned about the tendency towards the resort to violence among participants in the conflict. We propose that the authorities and the demonstrators confirm by means of statements and concrete actions their intentions to refrain from violent methods. In particular, a step in this direction would be the maintaining of continuous contacts between the sides of the conflict at the level of one or two authorized persons from the side of the police authority and from the side of the protestors. In conditions of large scale demonstrations on the streets of Kiev, the work of journalists reporting on the events, of human rights defenders and of independent observers assumes special importance, and therefore we call for the necessary steps to be taken to ensure their security. We propose that both sides should ask the embassies of member states of the OSCE to send observers and carry out monitoring of the events on the basis of methods developed and agreed by the OSCE. For our part we are ready to give the sides to the conflict all the assistance in our power to prevent violence. Eldar Zeinalov, Human Rights Centre, Azerbaijan Sergei Krivenko, ‘Citizen, Army, Law’, Russia Dmitry Makarov, International Youth Human Rights Movement, Russia Ella Ployakova, Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg, Russia Alexandru Postica, Promo-Lex, Moldova Dilrabo Samadova, Office of Civic Freedoms, Tajikistan Andrei Yurov, International Civic Initiative for OSCE, Russia Daniil Meshcheryakov, Moscow Helsinki Group 2 December 2013 Kiev, Ukraine |
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