Expert: We will work to have the world pay attention to persecution of UOC

International economist, a member of the Committee for the Protection of the Constitution and citizens’ rights Mila Melnichuk. Photo: “1Kozak”

“We will monitor the violation of the rights of believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and ensure that the world community draws attention to this situation,” promised a member of the Committee for the Protection of the Constitution and citizens’ rights, international economist Mila Melnichuk on “1Kozak” TV channel.

“We will translate into English and other languages, work to have the European Parliament and other structures pay attention to the problems of democracy and how religious issues are resolved,” Melnichuk said.

According to the expert, the Legal Department of the UOC has already registered 62 raider seizures of the temples of the canonical Church.

“And at the same time, the right of citizens to the freedom of religion, which is enshrined in almost the entire world, are grossly violated,” she stressed.

Religious conflicts and attempts at church raiding in Ukraine did not stop with the defeat of Petro Poroshenko in the elections of the President of Ukraine, Melnichuk said. She drew the attention of the audience that the new President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, "had taken a photo with everyone but did not resolve the contradiction".

The expert also said that she considered it necessary to make changes to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and increase penalties for those who incite ethnic hatred in our state.

“I consider unacceptable in a normal democratic state the arrival of “titushki” (men of athletic build) on buses and the seizure of churches, the distortion of our cultural heritage,” concluded the member of the Committee for the Protection of the Constitution and citizens’ rights.

As reported earlier, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović has already promised to visit Ukraine and monitor the violation of the rights of believers of the UOC. “I want to assure you that I am aware of what is happening there. I have not been to Ukraine yet, but I plan to be there soon. <...> When it comes to human rights, the violence of believers, this falls under my mandate. I will be doing this very carefully,” she said.

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