Bezan Urges Action to Stop Political Oppression in Ukraine

Ottawa, ON - The Ukrainian government’s recent convictions of former Minister of the Interior, Yuri Lutsenko, and the latest reports on the poor health of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, have signalled a continuing erosion of human rights and democracy in Ukraine.  James Bezan, Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake participated in two hearings on Ukraine at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and made a statement in the House of Commons on March 15^th, 2012 strongly condemning the Ukrainian government and calling for action. 

During the two days of hearings, Mr. Bezan raised the notion of taking action against Ukraine in the form of economic sanctions and reconsidering Canada’s potential Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine to send a strong signal to the Ukrainian government.  Committee witnesses also proposed that Canada and our allies freeze foreign assets held by Ukraine’s leadership and suspend their travel visas as well.  

The issues of accountability and transparency in Ukrainian elections were the key topics Mr. Bezan focused on in the Committee and in the House of Commons.   

“I was there to witness the last presidential elections,” said Mr. Bezan.  “I… saw some of the shenanigans that were being played out.  I was shocked… with how that election process played out.  There was a lack of accountability.”

“The Ukrainian government’s blatant gerrymandering of their election laws proves that there must be international election monitoring for Ukraine’s upcoming parliamentary elections,” stated Mr. Bezan in the House of Commons.  “Canada and the World are watching and continue to strongly state that President Yanukovych’s actions will not be tolerated.  I call on President Yanukovych to restore the rule of law and judicial independence in Ukraine.”  

After the committee hearings and his statement in the House, Mr. Bezan reflected on Canada’s broader foreign policy and added:

“Canada has always demonstrated global leadership with our foreign policies on Ukraine and other new democratic countries.  The challenge to the Free World is to find new ways to help emerging and struggling democracies.  Election observers, civil society funding, institutional capacity building are all very important.  But hard-won democratic freedoms are being trumped by rogue state leaders, not just in Ukraine, but elsewhere as well.  Canadian foreign policy has to continue to adapt to this new reality.”

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James Bezan, MP