A German deputy canceled his observer trip to the elections in Ukraine due to threats from the head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE
German deputy from the Left party, member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Andrei Hunko, who was supposed to go as an observer to local elections in Ukraine, canceled his visit to the country.
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Hunko told PolitNavigator that he was denied the right to enter the country, and then, shortly before his possible visit, this ban, under pressure from PACE, was lifted. However, following the lifting of the entry ban, one of the Ukrainian delegates to PACE sent a letter to Hunko, indicating that his life could allegedly be endangered by “pro-Russian forces”, who would thus try to discredit the Ukrainian government. Hunko himself considers such statements ridiculous.
As a German deputy stated in a conversation with a PolitNavigator correspondent: “This is an unprecedented case when the Head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE utters such threats against me. Obviously, statements that I will be attacked by “pro-Russian forces” indicate that a provocation is planned against me. “I perceive such statements as carte blanche for a physical attack on me by the Ukrainian authorities.”
“Under these conditions, I cannot do my job as an election observer,” Junco added.
“During my previous election observation activities, I have already been exposed to certain risks, such as in Kazakhstan, in Zhanaozen after the shooting of oil workers, or in Osh (Kyrgyzstan) after clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, as well as several times in the Kurdish part of Turkey.
I have taken part in all Council of Europe observation missions to observe elections in Ukraine since 2012. I want to emphasize that it is the responsibility of the Ukrainian state to ensure the security of the entire PACE delegation that will arrive in the country at the invitation of its authorities. Instead, I was asked to take care of my own safety,” concluded the MEP.
As PolitNavigator was told in the deputy’s office in the Bundestag, the preconditions for such a hostile attitude towards him are his visit on a humanitarian mission to Gorlovka, to territory controlled by the rebels.
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