Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Ukrainian parliament Thursday
Published:
9 April 2004 y., Friday
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Ukrainian parliament Thursday, the day of an expected final vote on constitutional amendments they say threaten democracy in the former Soviet republic.
Some 3,000 people, mostly pensioners, demanded wage and pension increases instead of the proposed constitutional changes.
Under the proposed amendments, parliament — not voters — will choose the president following elections in 2006. The changes are backed by President Leonid Kuchma.
Ukraine is to hold a presidential election in October and the opposition believes it has a strong chance of winning, although no candidates have yet entered the race.
But the proposed amendments, if approved, will allow lawmakers to choose a new president following parliamentary elections in two years. The opposition fears that the pro-Kuchma forces that control parliament could take back the presidency after the vote.
Western officials have criticized the constitutional changes.
Šaltinis:
story.news.yahoo.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
President Dalia Grybauskaitė sent congratulations on behalf of herself and the people of Lithuania to President Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation on the Day of Russia.
more »
Political support, commitment at all levels of governance and ensured financing are crucial elements for the successful implementation of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Skaisgirytė Liauškienė said at the seminar, dedicated to discuss financial and management aspects of the Strategy’s implementation.
more »
On 10 June, Political Director of Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Eitvydas Bajarūnas took part in the political consultations with officials from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in Kyiv.
more »
On 10 June, a seminar to discuss financial and management aspects of the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will be held in Vilnius.
more »
Two entities with common objectives, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, could act alongside each other, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Ažubalis says.
more »
President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė has just made her first State of the Nation Address in the Seimas, to give an overview of the situation of the country and the status of internal and foreign policies of the state, as required under the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
more »
A round table discussion "Europe 2030: Do We Have a New Approach?" was held on 4 June in Vilnius.
more »
On 7 June in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Šarūnas Adomavičius met with Chairman of the Knesset Lithuanian-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Group Zeev Bielski and discussed the cooperation between the countries, as well as in international organizations.
more »
Today Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany called President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė to express regrets at not having been able to come to Lithuania earlier in the week due to the complicated political situation in Germany.
more »
President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, who is currently visiting Lithuania.
more »