International

The ban on the Communist Party of Ukraine is a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression and the right of association and should be immediately reversed, according to Amnesty International. Amnesty's statement came in reaction to the judicial decision taken this week in Kiev, a ruling which led to the ban on the party participating in elections. SP Senator Tiny Kox, president of the left group in the Council of Europe, supports Amnesty International's call. 'It is extremely sad to see Ukraine becoming ever worse when it comes to respect for fundamental rights. These rights, which include freedom of expression, association and assembly, are guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, which Ukraine as a member state of the Council of Europe has committed itself to uphold, but which it is instead increasingly making a mess of.'

Kox's view is that other member states must protest against these dangerous developments in Ukraine. On his initiative the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has presented the legislation on which this week's judgment is based to the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's prestigious body of legal experts. The SP Senator believes that the Venice Commission's ruling will prove to be extremely critical of this legislation, despite its approval since by Ukraine's parliament and president.