Strasbourg, 22/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - Underlining his concern about the violence against journalists during a rally in Kiev on 18 May, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle called for an inquiry into these events on his Twitter account on 21 May.
Earlier in the day, Füle's spokesperson, Peter Stano, had told the Ukrainian news agency Interfax that “we did not see sufficient follow up action on the identification of the perpetrators” of the violence. “We call therefore on the Ukrainian authorities to promptly and effectively investigate the allegations of the use of violence, including against journalists. The perpetrators of the violence must be brought to justice to avoid there being a feeling of impunity of those participating in such acts”, he added, saying that the European Commission “will continue to pay attention to the need of ensuring safe and unhindered manifestation of freedom of assembly and media freedom rights”. He stressed “the importance of adopting improved legislation on freedom of assembly in line with the European standards”.
Clashes between supporters and opponents of President Viktor Yanukovych erupted on 18 May during demonstrations of the two parties in Kiev when journalists were injured. (CG/transl.fl)