Yulia Tymoshenko urges Viktor Yanukovych to put a stop to attacks on the Batkivshchyna Party

Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Batkivshchyna Party, has appealed to the honorary leader of the Party of Regions, President Viktor Yanukovych, urging him to call of their attack on her party.

"I won’t blind myself with illusions, but I’m asking you to realize that this scenario of an unfair election campaign that you have set into motion won’t just be a blow to your reputation. Your actions also harm Ukraine’s image abroad. I demand that you allow our political force to participate in these elections," Yulia Tymoshenko said during a press conference today in Kyiv.

She urged Viktor Yanukovych to stop interfering in her party’s internal affairs. "I demand a stop to the raids by the head of your administration, Mr. Lyovochkin, Minister of Justice Lavrynovych, Minister of Internal Affairs Mohylyov and the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, which you control."

The leader of Batkivshchyna also demanded that the legitimate party leaders be registered and that her party be allowed to participate in the elections without interference. “If you do not do this, we will be forced to boycott the elections. This will be a public sentence of your unconstitutional activities and you as a grave-digger of freedom."

According to Yulia Tymoshenko, Viktor Yanukovych failed to become “president of all citizens of Ukraine.” “You became the president only for shady commercial structures, whose interests are inseparables from yours."

Yulia Tymoshenko stressed that the unlawful actions by Viktor Yanukovych’s team are depriving Ukrainians of their freedom of choice. "Return the Batkivshchyna Party to the people that believe in it and want to vote for it."