03 July 2012, 17:07
PLENARY MEETINGS OF THE TENTH SESSION OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF THE SIXTH CONVOCATION WERE HELD ON TUESDAY, JULY 3.
At the beginning of the morning meeting, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada V. Lytvyn informed about the results of work of the Verkhovna Rada at the plenary meetings on June 19-22.
"YuTB Batkivshchyna" and "Our Ukraine People?s Self-Defense" factions demanded to announce a break or give them a chance to make a statement.
Andriy Kozhemyakin, the head of the "YuTB Batkivshchyna" faction, read out the statement, which claimed: "EURO-2012 came to an end. It was the festival of the strongest football teams in Europe. It inspired all football fans. Nevertheless, noone has forgotten about the unlawful acts against the leader of millions of Ukrainians Yuliya Tymoshenko. Comparing sports with politics, and elections to the Verkhovna Rada with the final match, the team of the joint opposition is a sure candidate for victory, but it is forced to take the field without its head coach. And our opponents, the so-called team of professionals, having imprisoned the national leader, is hoping to win this responsible and fateful match this way.
The Party of Regions cannot play according to the fair play rules. They are afraid of Yuliya Tymoshenko and know that they can never win honestly.
The elections cannot be fair if the leader of the team, supported by the half of Ukraine?s popultation at presidential elections, is unlawfully imprisoned."
A. Kozhemyakin claimed also: "No matter what puppet plays are performed by the authorities in front of the representatives of the European Union to prove that Yu. Tymoshenko?s trial is fair, everyone knows it?s just a performance.
Parliamentary majority can do whatever they want in this session hall, prevent the opposition from adoption of topical laws and block creation of interim inquiry panels for the public not to know the truth. You cynically tread down the Ukrainian language. But you should know and remember that the team named "For Homeland!" will definitely win this battle, and it will be headed by Tymoshenko."
Authorized representatives of deputy groups and factions took the floor with announcements, statements and proposals.
The Verkhovna Rada terminated the powers of people?s deputy Viktor Matchuk upon his personal application by 298 votes.
The Chairman announced that people?s deputies S. Vasylenko and S. Kharovskyi desert the faction "Our Ukraine People?s Self-Defense" and join the faction of the Party of Regions.
The statement of the People?s Party and the "Reforms for the Future" group was read out by people?s deputy Oleh Zarubinskyi. "EURO-2012 brought the feelings of pride and self-respect to those who believed in Ukraine and wished it well. It also desolated the foreign genetic Ukraine-haters who were trying to discredit our country and our people and disrupt EURO in Ukraine. It also upset the pseudo-patriots who predicted different disasters and troubles.
Orchestrated, anti-Ukrainian informational campaign of dirty foreign writers inspired by some of hypocritical politicians naming Ukraine to be the "country of prostitutes" and our citizens - "racists" failed. Ukraine is not a country of prostitutes, but a country of beautiful women. And what is more, we are more Europeans than many of them".
The statement also said that "Ukraine is one of the youngest countries that gained independence in recent times and, though, we have a number of problems, our country is a country of talented, hardworking and beautiful people. And if someone there will overripen, sour or get covered with cobweb in their gorged conceit, Ukraine will flourish and go ahead because we have young, hot and fresh blood".
People?s deputies included several bills and resolutions into the agenda.
The Chairman announced the joining of the people?s deputy P.Bohdan to the faction "BYT-Batkivshchyna".
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Adam Martyniuk announced the morning session closed.
At the beginning of the evening session the head of the faction of the Party of Regions Oleksandr Yefremov informed that factions of Party of Regions, CPU and the People?s Party submit the suggestion to consider the bill on the principles of state language policy (Reg. No.9073).
People?s deputies of the factions upheld the suggestion by 241 votes.
The representatives of the opposing parties surrounded the presidium and prevented the Chairman from holding the meeting.
The Chairman suggested adopting the bill in entirety in the version of the first reading.
People?s deputies adopted the bill on the principles of state language policy in entirety as the law by 248 votes (Reg.No.9073).
The First deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Adam Martyniuk closed the evening session.
The next plenary meeting will be held on Wednesday, the 4th of July.