As a sign of protest against the Volyn authorities' refusal to hold a meeting of voters with Viktor Yushchenko, tents were set up today by the regional headquarters of the "Our Ukraine" bloc in the center of Lutsk. The main goal of the action, as reported by the head of the Volyn headquarters of "Our Ukraine," People's Deputy Volodymyr Bondar, is informational: "we must inform the public about what Ukraine is living through, about the illegal methods used by the authorities. We will maintain this post until the visit of the leader of 'Our Ukraine.' Similar information posts are planned to be set up not only in the center but also in other densely populated areas of the city, places of large gatherings of people. As Volodymyr Bondar assured, the action will spread to other cities and districts of the region, because "the public must know why the authorities fear Yushchenko, why they do not let him near the people, and why they resort to anti-democratic actions regarding Viktor Yushchenko's visit to the region."
"It seems to me that the regional authorities were unable to fulfill even the instructions coming from the Presidential Administration, which clearly state - prepare halls on the outskirts of the city, but we were not even given such a hall," claims the Volyn head of "Our Ukraine." Therefore we protest against such actions, especially in a region where Yushchenko's popularity is very high. We are not a bloc that promotes aggression, we are a political force that seeks to achieve democracy both in the state and in the city. We will not allow the disruption of our event, nor the illegal behavior of the authorities, which they are demonstrating today toward our bloc," said the People's Deputy.
"The meeting with Viktor Yushchenko will take place after all. We will invite Volyn residents to come to this square and here we will determine where, how, and in what form the meeting will be held," Volodymyr Bondar assures.
Volodymyr Bondar issued an open letter to employees of budgetary institutions, civil servants, pupils, students, and citizens who are subjected to administrative pressure, in which he expresses a stern warning to managers "who will try to put the public before a difficult choice between losing their job or place of study and participating in yet another 'mass gathering' in support of the authorities' initiatives and pro-government political structures." Viktor Yushchenko's bloc is ready to defend anyone who testifies to facts of unmotivated administrative pressure, restriction of rights, or groundless coercion to certain actions, states the address of the Volyn representation of the "Our Ukraine" Bloc.