‘Ukraine’s rebel self-rule referendums a farce’ Ukraine’s interim President Oleksandr Turchynov has condemned the unofficial referendums organised by pro-Russia groups in the east of the country as “a farce” with no legal basis. Separatists in the Donetsk region have claimed victory in a “self-rule” referendum, saying 89 per cent voted in favour. And in the region of Luhansk, some 96 per cent are said to have voted for self-rule. BBC reporters at polling stations on Sunday witnessed few checks on identity and multiple voting in places. Mr Turchynov told Ukraine’s parliament that “the farce that terrorist separatists call a referendum is nothing more than propaganda to cover up murders, kidnappings, violence and other serious crimes”. The EU and US also said the polls were illegal. Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans has said he expected EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday to agree to expand sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, Reuters news agency reports. EU leaders have warned Russia it faces further sanctions if Ukraine’s presidential election fails to go ahead. A number of towns in the two eastern regions refused to hold the poll. The referendums were held despite an earlier call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay them in order to create the conditions necessary for dialogue. The Kremlin has so far made no official comments after the voting ended. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic election commission, Roman Lyagin, told journalists several hours after the vote ended that 89.07 per cent voted in favour of self-rule, with 10.19 per cent against, with 0.74 per cent of the ballots declared invalid.
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 14:22:41 +0000
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