Letter to Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
6 August 2012
Catherine Ashton
High Representative of the Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Madam,
we are a civic organization “Association of the believers of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek Catholic Church” addressing You with a request concerning a scandalous case of gross violation of human rights.
On Wednesday 1 August 2012, civic organizations that belong to the religious minority of the UO GCC (Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church) organized a peaceful prayer demonstration in Drohobych, Ukraine, on the occasion of the anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus. During the peaceful demonstration Drohobych police (Pavuk, chief of police), without any reason, arrested two activists! On the very same day they were sentenced in a show trial and imprisoned (a term of 10 and 15 days)! The police committed a crime on innocent citizens of Ukraine! It has become an instrument of the hierarchy of the UGCC (Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church) by whom the religious minority of orthodox Catholics is viewed as a hated competitor.
The police – a state body which according to Ukrainian law is committed to protecting the participants of a duly appointed peaceful demonstration – grossly violated the Constitution of Ukraine, Article 39. They not only did not protect the participants but used force to arrest peaceful civil activists who had not committed any offence! The Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” according to international treaties is subject to PACE Recommendation 1556 which stipulates that public authorities must not interfere in religious dogma or in interfaith disputes. Drohobych police violated Ukrainian laws and international conventions and has become an instrument of the UGCC leadership for blatant religious discrimination and violent destruction of a religious minority.
Madam, we request that You intervene in this scandalous case, draw the appropriate consequences and see to compensation to the aggrieved party to prevent any further injustice shown to peaceful citizens of Ukraine.
On behalf of the civic organization
+ Markian OSBMr
Archbishop of the UO GCC
Appendix: A documentary record of illegal police actions against participants of a peaceful demonstration in the town of Drohobych (http://uogcc.org/en/video/index.php/: Provocation and An Attack on Demonstration of the UO GCC – Drohobych, 1 August 2012).
