Oleksandr Korniienko: The world community must unite to protect democracy, which has suffered the most powerful blow in the last 70 years

Press Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat
Published on 08 November 2022, at 07:31

“To defend as bravely as Ukrainians fight: from the military to a child in kindergarten. To defend every time when a threat to democracy appears,” the First Vice Speaker emphasized during his speech at the tenth annual World Forum for Democracy “Democracy: New Hope?” during his working visit to Strasbourg, France.

Oleksandr Korniienko noted that everyone should make more efforts than usually to stop the attack on democracy: “They are Ukrainians who are making the most efforts, because it is happening on our land right now, at this moment, while we are here, people are dying, whole territories are left without electricity, water and heating, and forced deportations are being carried out by the Russian Federation”.

“When the full-scale attack of Russia began on February 24, the actions of the President of Ukraine were supported by even more people – 80-90 percent. And here we come to what my honourable colleague from Niger was talking about: the role of responsible leaders who must take responsibility now when it comes and continue to lead the country,” the First Vice-Speaker noted.

In addition, he stressed that in the conditions of daily possible rocket attacks, the MPs of Ukraine go to each meeting with the understanding that during the alarm it is necessary to go to the shelter, “because it is impossible to re-elect the Ukrainian Parliament during the war”. The First Deputy added that when there is no alarm, proposals are prepared, voiced, discussed, and then the parliamentarians vote: “We devote dozens of hours to some laws – this is a democratic process, work in committees and subgroups continues in parallel – this is a democratic process; the President signs the laws, some of them he has his own opinion, he returns them – this is a democratic process.”

“It is very important not to lose democracy itself when defending democracy. And this is the answer to your third question. Why did my friends and I go to the Maidan in 2004? Because there was a threat to democracy. Why did my friends and I come to the Maidan again in 2013? Because they wanted to steal from us the opportunity to be a part of Europe, the European process, European integration.

And every time Ukrainians face a threat to democracy, and now it is the “Maidan as the size of the whole country”, which is fighting, Ukrainians will defend democracy,” said First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko.