Interfax: State Duma urges Kyiv to stop politically motivated pursuits

MOSCOW. April 4 (Interfax) – Russia’s State Duma has unanimously passed a statement On Political Repressions in Ukraine, in which it expressed concerns about violations of pro-Russian citizens in the country.

“While leaning on extremist forces and involving the law enforcement agencies, the self-proclaimed authorities use methods which violate peoples’ rights regarding their political opponents and resort to repressions and physical violence in order to pursue citizens over political motives,” the statement said.

Political repressions rule out the possibility of a civilized resolution of the political crisis in Ukraine, Russian deputies said.

According to deputies, the pressure by Ukrainian nationalist radicals on Russian-speaking citizens is growing in all regions of the country, especially in south-east. “Hundreds of protest participants – among whom Pavel Gubarev (Donetsk), Arsen Klinchayev (Luhansk), Alexander Kharitonov (Luhansk), Anton Davidchenko (Odessa), Mikhail Chumachenko (Donetsk) are – have been arrested and detained,” the statement said.

Thus, “our fellow citizens and those, who support cooperation with Russia, are subject to political repressions,” the authors said.

“The State Duma condemns the actions of the self-proclaimed authorities in Ukraine, is utterly opposed to resolving political issues with forceful methods, and insists that commonly recognized principles and international standards in human rights and freedoms are complied with rigorously. Ukraine is a multi-ethnic country and all its citizens should have equal opportunities and rights, which are protected by law,” the statement said.

The State Duma said it urged the Ukrainian authorities “to stop political repressions and politically motivated pursuits, to start constructive dialog with opponents, and to resolve the issues Ukrainian society is facing in strict compliance with the law.”