Opposition bloc introduces to Verkhovna Rada draft decree dismissing Ukrainian culture minister
KYIV. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The Opposition Bloc party demanded the dismissal of Ukrainian Culture Minister Yevhen Nyshchuk over his statement regarding the residents of the southeastern and central regions of the country made on the talk show Freedom of Speech at the ICTV television channel on November 22.
"In particular, he said: 'The current situation in the eastern and southern regions is an abyss of consciousness. Moreover, when we speak about genetics in Zaporizhzhya, in Donbas, these are imported cities. There are no genetics there - they are deliberately imported. Cherkassy is a fine hetman and Shevchenko's land. The city of Cherkassy is half imported. Why? Because they were afraid of the Shevchenko spirit. It was a technology of the Soviet Union.' These words are a direct insult to millions of Ukrainian citizens, who are effectively regarded as 'second-grade', insinuating that they are a foreign element, an obstacle in the path of Ukrainization, accused of reluctance to assimilate and abandon their native language, culture, traditions, faith," the Opposition Bloc said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
The party said that the ethnic principle of building a nation has long been considered outdated and in Ukraine the government members "allow themselves to make statements, for which they could be ostracized in a polite society."
"The culture minister pointed to insufficiently clear genetics of the residents of those regions which still ensure the functioning of the Ukrainian economy and contribute to the state budget," the party said.
The Opposition Bloc is protesting "against the practice of bullying on ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious grounds which have become a norm for the current Ukrainian government."
"We call on the global community to respond firmly to statements of such nature of representatives of the Ukrainian authorities," the party said.
The Opposition Bloc party also demanded the "immediate dismissal of Minister Nyshchuk."
The party's press service said later that on Wednesday, people's deputy from the Opposition Bloc faction Oleksandr Vilkul introduced to the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada a draft decree on Nyshchuk's dismissal from his post. However, there is no information about registration of this document on the Verkhovna Rada's official website yet.
Nyshchuk, in turn, apologized for his statement on the 'genetics' of the residents of the southeast of the country at a meeting of the government on Wednesday, November 23. "Historical and cultural projects were underfinanced for a long time. In that regard, I said the moment of the spirit is forming. And everyone was irritated by the word 'genetics'. If it offended anyone, I sincerely apologize. In actual fact, I did not mean to offend, I was only saying that it is now necessary to increase attention to cultural dialogue and exchange," Nyshchuk said.
