Ukrainian president: Attempt to cancel privileges for officials before September 30 is a political performance

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko believes that the subjects of depriving governmental officials of their privileges and members of the parliament of their deputy immunity must be priority issue for consideration of the next parliament. He made the statement to reporters, while visiting Sorochinskaya Fair on Saturday, a REGNUM correspondent reports.

The president stressed that all responsible political forces must work on such unanimous position. According to Viktor Yushchenko, the questions of alleviating privileges and parliamentary immunity must be considered at a special session of a new parliament. “This is the first thing for us to do, because I am sure that it is where the big common disaster, corruption that penetrated all ranks of governmental agencies, comes from,” he said. As the president believes, statements heard now about considering such important issues at an extraordinary session of the current Supreme Rada are nothing but an attempt to stage a political performance.

“In this very urgent discussion, I stress effectiveness of privileges,” the Ukrainian president said. “Politicians, while speaking about canceling privileges for governmental officials, must first of all be guided by their respect for the people. There is another matter – expenditures for functioning of governmental agencies, where one must think it over whether we want to have an effective model of governance and creation of rules of the game, principles and laws,” he elaborated on the idea.

Earlier, the Regions Party led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich proposed to deprive all high-ranking officials including the Ukrainian president of their privileges at an extraordinary session of the parliament in early September. Other members of the National Unity Coalition, the Socialists and the Communists, back the idea.