US Ambassador on protests at Ukrainian Parliament: Ukrainians are behaving decently
The behavior of protesters and law enforcement officers during the protest action under the walls of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine indicates that the Ukrainian people can enjoy their rights. The Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, expressed this opinion in an interview with the publication Censor.net.
"Since the Maidan, and before that, obviously there have been demonstrations and protests in Ukraine, and I think it’s an important example of how the Ukrainian people are able to express their rights: freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, that’s really important. That’s also really important that this be done in a peaceful manner, that the police and law enforcement authorities handle things in a professional and restraint manner, which at least so far that’s what we are seeing and that’s what we would expect to see, and we commend them for that. And that protesters handle themselves in a dignified and peaceful manner," Yovanovitch said.
The diplomat stressed that she believes in Ukrainian civil society and in the Ukrainian people.
"I think that the Ukrainian people really demonstrated in 2014 and since then that they have clear vision of what Ukraine is — that this is a country that is a democracy, this is a country that treats its people fairly and with dignity, that follows Western values. And while as in any democracy some of those areas still need work, and some of the things are aspirational, I think we’ve seen clear progress over the last three years. And I would expect that the Ukrainian people, expect that their leaders will ensure that there are free and fair elections, that these elections are even better than the ones in 2014," said Yovanovitch.
Yovanovitch also said that she believes that the Ukrainian people must act more actively because the future of the country depends on them, and the US can only help Ukrainians.