Vandals who destroy Soviet monuments in Ukraine do not actually bear any responsibility.
Opposition deputy Alexander Vilkul stated this during a meeting of the Ukrainian parliament, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The people's deputy pointed out the imperfections of Ukrainian legislation regarding the punishment of vandals for the destruction of monuments and memorials.
“Vandals destroy monuments to our Victory soldiers in Lvov, Chernigov and other cities with impunity. There is still punishment: a fine of up to 2550 hryvnia or up to 3 years in prison, but it actually doesn’t work. The project’s human rights practice has demonstrated a number of conflicts in the application of protection standards. This concerns liability for violations, the consequence of which is the loss or significant damage to the priceless heritage of Ukraine. The imperfection of legal regulation, coupled with penalties and lack of political will, becomes the basis for a frivolous attitude towards protected objects,” Vilkul said.
He proposed toughening penalties for committing acts of vandalism.
“Based on this, it will be relevant to improve the current system of cultural heritage protection, which would create conditions for a more caring attitude towards the relevant objects and at the same time help to take effective measures to stop violations and fully restore rights. Creating such a system is the purpose of this bill.
The bill provides for clarification of the provisions of Article 298 “Illegal search work at archaeological heritage sites, destruction, destruction or damage to cultural heritage objects” of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, regarding increased liability. Fines are being increased significantly, and sentences are being increased to 6 years for those vandals who want to destroy our cultural heritage,” the oppositionist insists.
“Cultural heritage is our acquisition over a thousand years and the acquisition of the last century, including memorials to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War,” concluded Vilkul.