Photo

Protest shames lawmakers that obstruct corruption fight

Prev 01 9 Next
A woman stands near banners that read: "Don't fool us and the U.S." and “Have you eaten the fish soup?” In Ukrainian, this phrase sounds similar to the question “Have you f*cking lost your mind?” Protesters held a rally near the building of the Committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Oct. 3 to highlight the failure of lawmakers to pass much-needed reform legislation.

Ukrainian civic activists have rallied to urge lawmakers to drop draft laws that they say will sabotage anti-corruption reforms and help corrupt officials evade punishment.

Activists with the Reanimation Package of Reforms anti-corruption organization protested next to the parliament’s building in Kyiv on Oct. 3.

At the protest, they pretended to cook fish soup and held banners reading, “Have you been eating fish soup?” In Ukrainian, the phrase sounds very similar to “Have you f*cking lost your mind?”

The protesters criticized several draft laws that lawmakers have tabled in parliament for consideration. One of the bills suggests restricting public access to particular data in the electronic declarations of officials’ assets. Another two draft laws would stop the National Anti-Corruption Bureau from investigating high-profile cases against corrupt officials.

Read the Kyiv Post story about the protest