Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that the presence of illegal armed groups among civilians is unacceptable and said he is ready to submit to parliament a bill aimed at granting emergency powers to law enforcers to deal with potential terrorism.
“Carrying automatic rifles and machine guns on the street, if one does not belong to law enforcement agencies, unequivocally qualifies one as a terrorist. And law enforcement agencies will have every reason to treat one accordingly, as a terrorist,” Poroshenko said when presenting the new leadership of Zakarpattia region in Uzhgorod on July 15 evening.
The Ukrainian president noted that he studied the experience of the Balkan countries in this matter.
“After studying this experience, I do not rule out that I will soon submit to parliament [relevant] legislative act,” the president said.
According to Poroshenko, the document in question will endow law enforcers with extraordinary powers.
