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Opposition unveils Arise Ukraine campaign
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, March 12 – Opposition groups on Thursday plan to begin a two-month campaign against President Viktor Yanukovych and his government to energize supporters amid renewed talk of early parliamentary elections.

They say the campaign - dubbed Arise Ukraine! - will spread throughout the country and will culminate in Kiev in May with a massive protest rally.

The plans come in response to a recent court ruling that stripped Serhiy Vlasenko, a key member of the opposition Batkivshchyna party, of his lawmaker status. The move makes Vlasenko, a key legal defender of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, vulnerable to potential arrest.

“We plan to go through all regions of Ukraine and to complete our campaign by a protest rally in Kiev,” Arseniy Yatseniuk, the leader of the Batkivshchyna group, said.

The campaign will be joined by two other opposition groups, including Udar, led by Vitaliy Klichko, and Svoboda led by Oleh Tiahnybok.

The campaign will seek to energize supporters across the country and to spread its message aimed against Yanukovych and his government less than two years before the next presidential elections.

“We plan to gather information about the people that jointly with us will be ready for more radical form of struggle,” Tiahnybok said. “We have a trump card – the people of Ukraine that is waiting for concrete actions by the opposition groups.”

The campaign also comes amid renewed speculations that the early parliamentary elections may be an option following the opposition parties plan to block the work of Parliament last week.

The blocking of Parliament – a form of protest by opposition groups – makes it impossible for lawmakers to get together for session. The president is allowed to dismiss Parliament if it fails to open a session within 30 days.

This comes less than 20 days after the opposition ended its 17-day protest blocking Parliament.

The continued delay of Parliament’s operation is putting major pressure on the government because it cannot approve legislation required to overcome an emerging economic crisis.

Ukraine’s economy has been slowing down in response to weak exports and slowing domestic consumption, forcing the government to cut spending and to take other measures.

Ihor Kaletnyk, the first deputy speaker of Parliament and an ally of Yanukovych, said that the opposition groups launch the protest as part of their campaign to prepare for the presidential elections in March 2015. He also ruled out the possibility for Yanukovych dismissing Parliament due to the continued blockage.

“This scenario is aimed at unfolding the presidential election campaign” by the three opposition groups, Kaletnyk said. “But it will not benefit them. “I am confident that there will be no Parliament dismissal.” (tl/ez)




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