At the morning sitting of the parliament, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stated that the bill "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2011" adopted in the first reading is "a budget of the authorities devoid of the national dignity."
M.Tomenko considers it inadmissible that the Government should cut down financial support of publication of Ukrainian books from UAH 33 to 20 million for the year, when the 20th anniversary of independence and the 150th anniversary of reburial of Taras Shevchenko are celebrated. "The financial support of the museums, libraries and theatres is lower than in the period of crisis," the Deputy Chairman stated. "The authorities actually suggest destroying the entire system of humanitarian policy," he stated.
"The expenditures for the tourism development are the expenditures for the tourism destruction," the Deputy Chairman admitted. Development of the physical culture and sports infrastructure for children and students is claimed to be in the same situation.
"The authorities that drafted the budget seem to work only for the sake of development of their own business and party," M.Tomenko claimed.
According to M.Tomenko, the opposition will recommend revising the financial support of the humanitarian sector, while adjusting the bill to the second reading. "If the authorities are devoid of the national dignity, both the power and the state are doomed to fail," he stated.