When Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych entered parliament on May 15 he was met with a mixture of applause and heckles.
His government-aligned Party of Regions
gave him a standing ovation along with several Communists, while the hoots came
from the three opposition factions.
Yanukovych
arrived in parliament after 10.30 a.m., shortly after Speaker Volodymyr Rybak
convened the day’s session. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was also present,
as was First Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov and other officials. Ukraine’s
leaders were present to attend an oath taking procedure for new Constitutional
Court judges as required by law.
As
the judges took their oath, the opposition, wearing Free Yulia T- shirts,
chanted the same slogan, referring to jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko
who is serving a 7-year prison sentence for abuse of office. Her trial and subsequent
conviction is considered politically motivated in the West and the opposition,
and has been questioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Yanukovych
didn’t appear phased by the heckles and his face betrayed a suppressed
smile.
This
is not the first time he has received such a rude reception in parliament. On
Feb. 7 chanting from the opposition delayed the start of his speech in the
legislature for several minutes.
Yanukovych
and his cohort exited parliament immediately after the oath taking ceremony concluded
amid additional opposition jeers to “Out with the Gangsters.”
Kyiv
Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
