KIEV, November 4 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian nationalists on Monday submitted to parliament a ban on communist ideology in the country, one of the bill’s authors said.
Although the full text of the bill is not available yet, its authors – Oleh Tyahnybok and Andriy Mokhnyk of the nationalist Svoboda Party – have earlier suggested banning communist teachings, saying they promote hatred against all humanity.
"The aim of the bill is to ban the communist ideology in all its aspects,” Tyahnybok was quoted as saying by the Liga.net Ukrainian news portal.
Speaking at a Verkhovna Rada session on Monday, Tyahnybok said the bill aims “to overcome the consequences of the rule of the totalitarian communist regime, to dismantle the communist legacy, to eliminate threats to Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, to prevent Ukraine from becoming a colony again, to restore historic and social justice and to strengthen the spirit and morals of the Ukrainian nation.”
Svoboda is known for its fierce anti-Communist stance, and its members have repeatedly clashed with Communist activists on various occasions and attempted to disrupt events organized by Ukraine’s Communist Party.
The party has earlier requested a court to cancel the Communist Party’s membership in parliament, but the lawsuit was rejected.
Last month, a group of Ukrainian politicians and public figures suggested a referendum on banning “the Communist Party and its totalitarian ideology,” the Kyiv Post reported.
