MOSCOW, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine should guarantee the protection of human rights and put an end to the information warfare that is hampering dialogue in the country, the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights said Wednesday.
The human rights organization, led by Alexander Brod, said in a report that the Ukrainian crisis had entered a new stage, marked by a “growing level of violence, the split of southern and eastern regions from central power and the legitimization of their new status beyond the political and legal framework of Ukraine."
“Political ambitions should not shade the sufferings of common people targeted by the standoff,” the report said, adding that Ukraine should “announce a moratorium on information warfare” in an effort to end the conflict.
The report called for restoring the Geneva talks on Ukraine in a permanent format, establishing a venue for dialogue between Ukrainian authorities and the country’s southeastern regions, and stepping up civil society efforts to settle the crisis.
Ukraine saw a regime change in February after the so-called Maidan mass rallies in Kiev. The Ukrainian parliament backed by far-right movements ousted elected president Viktor Yanukovych, amended the country’s constitution and scheduled early elections for May 25.
Moscow has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the current Kiev authorities, saying that the legitimacy of the upcoming election will depend on a number of conditions including transparency and the interests of the regions.
Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics, where most citizens supported independence from Ukraine at a Sunday referendum, declared they would not take part in the May 25 election.
