16:27 07.05.2014

Party of Regions, communists, All-Military Union plan massive May 9 events in Kyiv

2 min read

Kyiv City State Administration is negotiating with the political forces which intend to stage May 9 events in order to rule out possible provocations, administration head Volodymyr Bondarenko said.

"Three applications for marches in Kyiv center have been filed with Kyiv City State Administration by the Party of Regions, the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Ukrainian All-Military Union led by Oleh Kalashnikov. The applications mention a 50,000 person turnout and overlap by time and venue," Bondarenko told a press conference on Wednesday.

The administration has spoken to the action organizers and demanded that they abstain from using "symbols of a foreign state," such as the Russian state flag.

"Probably, they will be using St. George ribbons. The Party of Regions has warned me about that," Bondarenko said.

In his words, the three political forces assured Kyiv city administration they would not be carrying the tricolored flags but the Party of Regions would hand out the ribbons with a combination of Russian and Ukrainian colors to the march participants.

The city administration carries on the negotiations and may ask a court to ban the actions if "their organizers fail to meet the requirements."

"Law enforcement and Maidan self-defense "hundreds" will be guarding the three marches in order to prevent provocations," Bondarenko said.

Another precaution is stricter control over entrances to the capital city and groups of suspicious people, especially at hotels.

The Ukrainian authorities and Kyiv city administrations decided not to hold the May 9 events with the participation of WWII veterans at the national and city level. Separate celebrations will be held in districts. There will also be festivities for the veterans at the WWII Museum and fireworks.

AD
AD
AD
AD
AD