US Helsinki Commission Chief Urges Ukrainian Authorities to Drop Force

The Chairman of the US Helsinki Commission and senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin has condemned the use of force against protesters in Ukraine.

“I am deeply dismayed by yesterday’s decision by Ukrainian authorities to use Interior Ministry troops against peaceful protests in central Kiev, coming after the already brutal dispersal of protestors last week. There is no justification for these actions, which, along with other human rights violations, are grossly at odds with Ukraine’s Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments and a serious blot on Ukraine’s OSCE Chairmanship”, said Cardin, quoted by the Kyiv Post.

Senator Cardin called upon the Ukrainian authorities to take immediate steps to ensure the freedom of assembly and expression.

“These recent events come against the backdrop of the overall deterioration of human rights and democracy in Ukraine in the last few years. The U.S., Canada and the EU have spoken out forcefully on these assaults on basic freedoms”, added the US senator.

Earlier, the US State Department suggested it may resort to economic sanctions against Ukraine if other diplomatic channels for reconciliation of the political crisis are exhausted.

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