World Congress of Ukrainians demands Yanukovych free Tymoshenko, stop Customs Union integration
KYIV. Aug 21 (Interfax) - The World Congress of Ukrainians has called on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to comply with the European Union's criteria that it critical for future European integration, including the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"The EU's main demand is that the Ukrainian authorities demonstrate that they are returning to democracy from previous authoritarian rule," Yevhen Choliy, the chairman of the World Congress of Ukrainians, said at the opening ceremony in Lviv.
The Congress's demands for the authorities include a reform of the legal and judicial systems, the harmonization of the election laws with the European standards, and a halt to Ukraine's move toward membership in the Belarusian-Kazakh-Russian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, which, in Choliy's words, is "a path straight toward the restoration of the Russian Empire."
The World Congress of Ukrainians is firmly convinced that Ukraine's speediest possible integration into Europe is necessary, as "it is the best guarantee of Ukraine's independence, which is jeopardized at present," he said.
"It is being decided at this critical time whether Ukraine will return to Soviet times or will move forward toward integration with democratic Europe. Nobody can stand apart at this time," Choliy said. "The World Congress of Ukrainians will do all it can so that Ukraine never returns to the authoritarian Soviet times," Choliy said.