White House Site Petition against Ukraine Govt Gains Speed

A petition asking personal sanctions on the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the country's government on the White House website has gathered close to 47 000 signatures.

The petition has been launched Tuesday and the number of signatures is constantly growing.

The authors voice firm opposition to Ukraine's decision to freeze its EU integration bid and not sign the association agreement with the Union.

Below is the text of the petition:

"On the 21 November 2013 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted resolution to suspend the preparation process to conclude Association Agreement with European Union.

We cannot accept the fact that President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and his government deny the right of the people of Ukraine to become closer to the Western civilization.

We demand to impose personal sanctions on Mr Yanukovych and Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine members unless Mr Yanukovych signs the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement during Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on 29 November 2013:

The sanctions should include but not be limited to:

- Ban to enter the U.S. and EU for Mr Yanukovych and Ukraine government members families.

- Freeze bank accounts of companies affiliated with them

100 000 signatures are needed in 30 days (by December 26) in order for the White House's Administration to examine the petition and to issue a statement.

The White House, however, is not mandated to take a stand.

Meanwhile, the Kyiv (Kiev) Post reports that another petition drive has been started, also on Tuesday, by Dmytro Potekhin, a 38-year-old Ukrainian, at change.org. It urges Rob Wainwright, the director of Europol, to probe the legitimacy of the Yanukovych administration.

"Check if Mr. Yanukovych is the legitimate president, ask him to release (imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Yulia) Tymoshenko. Otherwise associate him with the European Union penitentiary system deeply and comprehensively," Potekhin writes.

The petition has collected 100 signatures so far.

There is also a resolution on the site of American Congress, posted on November 12, 2013.

It was sponsored by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY-16) and is in support of the European aspirations of the peoples of the European Union's Eastern Partnership countries, and for other purposes.

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