Ukraine: opposition blocks work of Supreme Rada
KIEV. September 11. KAZINFORM Members of parliament from the opposition faction of Yulia Timoshenko Bloc-Fatherland blocked on Friday the rostrum, the presidium and the government box in the conference hall of the Supreme Rada (parliament) of Ukraine. They are demanding the putting on the agenda of the items imposing a moratorium on the growth of housing and communal tariffs and gas prices, as well as on the increase of the pension age for women; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.
On Thursday MPs from that parliamentary faction left the Rada meeting, and on Friday they passed over to the blockade of the work of the supreme legislative body of the country. The parliamentary TV channel stopped live broadcasting of the Rada meeting.
Mikhail Chechetov, MP from the Party of Regions, said that their faction would not resort to force for removing the blockade. "We shall not remove the blockade of the rostrum by force. If the Timoshenko Bloc does not allow the speaker to open the meeting, we shall go to work at our constituencies," Chechetov said.
A plenary meeting of the Rada was not started on Friday, because its work was blocked by the faction of the Timoshenko Bloc-Fatherland. The factions of the parties, integrated in the ruling coalition, left the conference hall.
"The parliament will not work today," said Alexander Efremov, the leader of the faction of the Party of Regions. He expressed confidence that the parliament would resume work next week. "Some actions will be taken, with the help of which the Supreme Rada will work effectively, I hope. We shall adopt all the main documents within the time limits, set by the legislation, including the Tax Code and the 2011 budget," Efremov said. He added that all actions would be taken within the framework of the legislation, without specifying what concrete actions he had in mind.