FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine Wins Appeal for Official Registration
July 4, 2018 (EIRNS)—Today, the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (PSPU), headed by internationally prominent economist and Schiller Institute friend Dr. Natalia Vitrenko, won its appeal in the PSPU’s lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice for failing to accept the party’s revised Charter and Bylaws, thereby preventing the PSPU from running candidates and participating in democratic debate. The blatantly illegal action of the Ministry of Justice was matched by a campaign of fascist thuggery and criminality deployed against Vitrenko, PSPU party members, activities, and property.
A former member of Parliament who ran for President several times, winning as much as 11% in 1999, even after her campaign was disrupted by an assassination attempt, since 2014 Dr. Vitrenko has spoken out internationally of the danger to all Europe if Victoria Nuland’s fascist coup in Ukraine is allowed to stand, including at several Schiller Institute conferences.
In the court hearing, in addition to presenting the facts, Dr. Vitrenko informed the judges that the European Commission had taken note of the Ministry of Justice’s efforts to silence her party. On Feb. 20, 2018, Member of the European Parliament Marco Zanni (Italy) filed a formal query with EU Commission Vice President and High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on the Kyiv regime’s actions against the PSPU. On April 24, Mogherini issued an official reply in the name of the Commission. She wrote that the EC was aware of the case, and although it could not speak about an ongoing judicial procedure, “full compliance with international commitments is an integral part of value-based relationships between the European Union and Ukraine ... [and] international rules on chartering and activities of political parties should be duly respected.”
The following translation of the notice on the court victory posted today on Vitrenko’s website provides key background on the case:
“On July 4, 2018 the Kyiv District Administrative Appeals Court considered the Progressive Socialists’ appeal of the lower court decision, which had rejected the PSPU’s lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
“Ever since the Euromaidan regime came to power, a brutal struggle has been under way against the only extra-parliamentary systemic opposition party, the PSPU. The Party’s central office has been seized. Law enforcement agencies have instigated bandit and Nazi gangs against the Party’s leaders and against peaceful protest demonstrations organized by the PSPU. The Police and the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] fail to investigate or call these thugs to account.
“In parallel, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has refused to acknowledge and register either the decisions of three congresses of the PSPU, which changed the PSPU Program and Charter in accordance with the requirements of [new] laws, or the new composition of the Party’s Central Committee. The Ministry of Justice has thereby flouted Ukrainian and international law, through its political discrimination against the PSPU.
“The Kyiv District Administrative Court, which is the lower court in question, took the side of the Ministry of Justice, with its unlawful decision of March 20, 2018. The PSPU appealed, and now has won, by defending the PSPU’s rights and demonstrating that the Ministry of Justice was politically motivated.
“The Party was represented in court by PSPU Chairman, People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the II and III Convocations, Dr. of Economics Natalia Vitrenko.”
