kraine: Yanukovych signs deal on ending crisis, Rada passes law returning to 2004 Constitution
21 February 2014, 04:57
Ukraine's parliament on Friday voted heavily in favour of returning to the constitution of 2004 under which President Viktor Yanukovich will lose some of his powers. The move also gives lawmakers the right to appoint key ministers. The constitutional change was supported by 386 deputies in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada.
Ukrainian Rada also has voted in favor of amnesty for all protesters and passed a ban on prosecution, punishment of protesters.
The move was part of an EU-brokered agreement signed between Yanukovych and opposition leaders to end a crisis which has sparked mass street protests and violence in the capital Kiev.
The following is the text of the agreement signed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders in the presence of EU envoys to end the ex-Soviet country's three-month crisis.
1. Within 48 hours of the signing of this agreement, a special law will be adopted, signed and promulgated, which will restore the Constitution of 2004 including amendments passed until now. Signatories declare their intention to create a coalition and form a national unity government within 10 days thereafter.
2. Constitutional reform, balancing the powers of the President, the government and parliament, will start immediately and be completed in September 2014.
3. Presidential elections will be held as soon as the new Constitution is adopted but no later than December 2014. New electoral laws will be passed and a new Central Election Commission will be formed on the basis of proportionality and in accordance with the OSCE & Venice commission rules.
4. Investigation into recent acts of violence will be conducted under joint monitoring from the authorities, the opposition and the Council of Europe.
5. The authorities will not impose a state of emergency. The authorities and the opposition will refrain from the use of violence.
The Parliament will adopt the 3rd amnesty, covering the same range of illegal actions as the 17th February 2014 law. Both parties will undertake serious efforts for the normalisation of life in the cities and villages by withdrawing from administrative and public buildings and unblocking streets, city parks and squares. Illegal weapons should be handed over to the Ministry of Interior bodies within 24 hours of the special law, referred to in point 1 hereof, coming into force. After the aforementioned period, all cases of illegal carrying and storage of weapons will fall under the law of Ukraine. The forces of authorities and of the opposition will step back from confrontational posture. The Government will use law enforcement forces exclusively for the physical protection of public buildings.
6. The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Poland and the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation call for an immediate end to all violence and confrontation.
Ukraine's Yanukovych, opposition sign agreement aimed at ending months of political crisis
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday signed an agreement with three opposition leaders to end a crisis that sparked violent clashes between protesters and police on the streets of the capital Kiev.
The agreement followed an announcement by Yanukovych to hold early elections, to form a national unity government and relinquish some of his presidential powers. The agreement was witnessed by two European Union foreign ministers who brokered the deal.
Ukraine: Maidan approves agreement between between Yanukovych, opposition
The Maidan council has approved the signing of an agreement between the authorities and opposition, provided the new government does not include current Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko and Viktor Pshonka is no longer Prosecutor General, Svoboda Party leader Oleh Tiahnybok said.
"The session of the Maidan Council is over. It was decided to approve the decision on the need to sign the agreement but on the condition that we do not see Interior Minister Zakharchenko in the next government and will not see Pshonka as Prosecutor General in the near future," he told reporters in Kiev on Friday. The agreement has yet to be signed, Tiahnybok said.
Voice of Russia, Interfax, TASS, dpa
Source: Ukraine: Yanukovych signs deal on ending crisis, Rada passes law returning to 2004 Constitution
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