Censorship: Militants disrupt all actions of the initiators of the creation of a free economic zone in Odessa
Kyiv, April 05 (PolitNavigator, Vladimir Mikhailov) – The initiative to create a free economic zone in Odessa met resistance from the so-called. “patriotic public” - paramilitary forces.
Alexey Tsvetkov, head of the public organization “For Porto Franco,” said this at a press conference on the topic “Free economic zones – ways out of the crisis.”
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“In February 2015, we began collecting signatures for an appeal to the President of Ukraine to establish a free economic zone in certain parts of Odessa and the Odessa region. At the last stage of collecting signatures, we encountered a negative reaction from some marginal political forces who see the further development of the economy of our region as a kind of appendage to a war zone and brand any manifestations of dissent as “separatism.”
The last press conference, scheduled for March 19, was disrupted because about 150 people from organizations that have their own paramilitary forces showed up. We believe that there is currently pressure on freedom of speech in the Odessa region. But I don’t see anything criminal in our activities since they are based on existing legislation, in particular, on the Law “On the Fundamentals of the Creation and Operation of Free Economic Zones,” the social activist said.
“Attempts to reach out to the authorities are met with fierce resistance from groups of people who for some reason call themselves the “patriotic public,” added the head of the Civil Action NGO Nikolai Pichurin. – These people are more like paramilitary forces, although they represent public organizations. We know that according to Art. 37 of the Constitution, public organizations are prohibited from having paramilitary forces. They rather harm the image of Ukraine as a state that declares a democratic path of development.”
English version :: Read in English Censorship: Militants disrupt all protests by the initiators of the free economic zone in Odessa