26 April 2010, 12:48
According to Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, despite the possible support of the parliamentary majority of the agreement on prolongation of the period of stay of the Black Sea Fleet at the territory of Ukraine, the said matter concerns "protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity, which, in compliance with Clause 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, is a cause of the Ukrainian people." He reminded that under this Clause "establishment and operation of any armed formations not envisaged by law are prohibited in the territory of Ukraine".
"Therefore, under the Constitution of Ukraine and the effective legislation, to make ‘Kharkiv Yanukovych-Medvedev pact´ legitimate, either the Constitution shall be amended, or the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the territory of Ukraine till year 2042 shall be supported at the referendum", M.Tomenko stated.
Reportedly, President Viktor Yanukovych supported the idea of holding a referendum. Meeting the mass media, he declared his intention to discuss this matter with the public "as soon as the corresponding laws on referendum are adopted."
The Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine believes that if the President fails to initiate the referendum, the opposition is bound to do that. M.Tomenko stated that all the politicians opposing the ‘Kharkiv pact´ and the President´s actions shall start to collect the signatures for the holding of the national referendum on the public initiative. He reminded that under Clause 72 of the Constitution of Ukraine, "the All-Ukrainian referendum shall be called by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or by the President of Ukraine in accordance with their powers determined by this Constitution. The All-Ukrainian referendum shall be convened as a popular initiative at the request of at least three million citizens of Ukraine eligible to vote, provided that the signatures in favour of the referendum have been collected in at least two-thirds of the oblasts with at least 100,000 signatures gathered in each oblast".