Ukraine: EPP Group calls on Foreign Ministers to exclude Yanukovich from club of democratic leaders

“At this very moment on the European continent, a leader is committing a massacre against his own people. These terrifying events remind us of the darkest moments of history, Budapest in 1956, Prague in 1968, Sarajevo in 1992. By ordering its police forces to attack the demonstrators on Maidan Square with live ammunition, water cannons, grenades and truncheons, Mr Yanukovich has decided to imitate figures like Jaruzelski, Ceaucescu and Milosevic. He has excluded himself from the club of democratic leaders”, stated Joseph Daul MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group and President of the European People’s Party, on Thursday.

“Since the regime is not listening to our calls for dialogue and is continuing its murderous folly, I call on the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU28, who are meeting in Brussels this afternoon, to urgently take the decision to impose sanctions on Mr Yanukovich, his entourage, friends and supporters. For a start, these people should be banned from travelling in the European Union. Second, his business and financial interests in Europe, and those of his immediate family, friends and supporters should be frozen. Finally, we need to issue an international arrest warrant to bring Mr Yanukovich in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The ongoing repression is a crime against humanity. Yanukovich must face justice for his acts”, he said.

“We also call on the regime to guarantee full access to the International Red Cross and other medical services in order to give aid to injured demonstrators in Kiev and in other cities of Ukraine”, he concluded.