Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a spokesperson on foreign affairs for an Opposition party, I take this opportunity strongly condemn the latest developments in Ukraine. President Yanukovych continues to abuse power against his people. The introduction of laws to prohibit any kind of demonstration against the government has directly deprived Ukrainians of their most basic civil rights. These provisions have resulted in the turmoil we are seeing on our television screens daily.

Yesterday, things took a darker turn and we witnessed the first fatalities in the on-going protests taking place in Ukraine, as tensions between the government and opposition parties heighten further. Up to five people are reported to have been killed in Kiev. Media reports state these protestors died from gunshot wounds. This is a deeply upsetting and a regrettable turn of events. Even in the days of the pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004, no fatal violence was seen on the streets of the Ukrainian capital. Today, barricades are still burning in the city while billowing black smoke rises from the piles of tyres that now mark the front line between the riot police and the protesters.

I understand that Ukrainian opposition leaders are due to meet President Yanukovych today to seek out a compromise on the way forward. Unfortunately, agreement seems a faraway prospect.

The opposition threat to go on the attack unless concessions are made by President Yanukovych is unlikely to yield an agreement. The claims by the government that the protests are being led by ultra-nationalists and terrorists show how wide the divide between the two sides in this crisis has become.

The increasingly authoritarian style of the Ukrainian Government should be of great concern to all democrats who support the concept of basic human rights. The European Union has a responsibility to exert pressure on President Yanukovych to stop the implementation of dramatic new laws banning almost all forms of protest activity and the violent enforcement of these laws. The reports this week that the body of opposition activist Yuri Verbitsky had been found in woods outside Kiev and had signs of torture are deeply troubling. It is a wake-up call for all of us in the European Union. This crisis is on its doorstep and the Union is a central actor in the political crisis which has arisen. The anti-government protests flared up almost three months ago in late November over the President's decision to pull out of a landmark treaty to enhance political and economic co-operation with the European Union which must use its voice to support those in the Ukraine who support human rights, democracy and the rule of law. It must stand with those who believe in a better future for all in Ukraine.

I am glad that the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs is here to respond. I request him, his colleagues in government and our officials in the European Union and other international organisations to use Ireland's voice and influence, particularly at the Foreign Affairs Council, to call for targeted sanctions against the Ukrainian authorities for the continuous abuse of human rights and the increasing violence being used against its citizens.

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